


Altered and Alternate

by needdl



Category: Naruto
Genre: 1910s AU, Bisexual Characters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Smut, Football | Soccer, Genderbent Neji, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Lesbians, Light Angst, Modern magic AU, Multi, NejiTen Month 2019, Not All Tags Apply to All Chapters, Patriarchy, Politics, Sort of anyway, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2020-06-26 15:46:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 63,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19771393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needdl/pseuds/needdl
Summary: A collection of stories based off the prompts of ntmonth on Tumblr. Day Twelve: Memories





	1. Day One: Genderbend

**Author's Note:**

> the idea of writing a genderbend has always been something that i've figured would be more complicated than fluffy, because a male-presenting character changing to a female-presenting character means that they are going to have a lot of different life experiences than they did before, and it may change their characterization drastically. because being woman hard.
> 
> I may continue this universe, because i think i'd have a lot to explore.

Tenten was twelve years old and  _ so, so  _ glad that she managed to land on one of the few genin teams that had two girls.

Nejiko Hyuga wasn’t friendly, exactly, or even very nice, but she was a  _ girl _ , so it meant that Tenten would have someone else to lean on and commiserate with while Gai and Lee ran around each other in circles, ignoring the two of them in favor of their newfound bond.

When it became clear in the next few weeks that the favoritism of Lee was going to be permanent, Tenten had expected Nejiko to speak up in her demanding Hyuga way- because Konoha practically worshipped the Hyuga Clan, and its members acted that way too- but instead she had watched Nejiko swallow her words and keep her silence.

So Tenten had bellowed at Gai-sensei and Lee that the two kunoichi were going to the edge of the field for target practice, and they spent several quiet hours letting their kunai and shuriken  _ thump  _ into the targets. 

Nejiko eventually broke the silence. “I have several techniques with my kekkei genkai that I’d like to practice. Will you spar with me?”

Tenten shrugged and glanced at Gai and Lee- not ignoring the kunoichi, exactly, because the team trained together all the time, it was just that the two got tunnel vision sometimes- and replied to her teammate, “Sure.”

And so they went.

* * *

Being a kunoichi was hard enough with two of them on the team. Tenten didn’t even want to contemplate what it would have been like if it had just been her.

  
  


Tenten was fourteen years old, and had a giant,  _ embarrassing _ crush on Temari no Sabaku. 

She was the kunoichi who had brutally defeated her in the chunin exams, who would have killed her if she had been given the chance, who had betrayed the village- but now she was a diplomat, the villages were allies, and Temari was just. So. Hot.

_ Ugh _ . Tenten wrenched her eyes away from the sight of Temari’s crossed legs, sleek and tan in their protective mesh. What kind of kunoichi let herself get so addled by a lust-based crush? A pathetic one.

“ _ Tenten. _ ” Based on the impatience in Nejiko’s voice, she had been trying to get Tenten’s attention for a while now. Tenten crinkled her nose guiltily. “Sorry, what?”

The two of them were close now, after the disastrous chunin exams when so much of Nejiko’s family life had been laid bare. The daughter of the unfavored son, condemned to bound servitude as she watched her cousin be bent and broken into the role of heir, Hinata’s own sister- “ _the_ _spare”_ \- ready for the moment she faltered.

Nejiko’s conflicted emotions over Hinata made perfect sense to Tenten- because she was forced to subjugation despite her talent even as her cousin was forced to lead despite her incompetence of mind, body, and spirit. Hinata lacked the strong Hyuga fighting techniques, she did not have the seemingly necessary cruelty of the Clan Head, and she had no desire whatsoever to be the heiress.

So Nejiko both understood and envied her cousin, and those conflicting emotions boiled over in a match that ended with Hinata in the hospital and Nejiko in a seething, desperate rage. 

(“Fight back!”

“I- I can’t-”

“YOU ARE THE HEIRESS. YOU ARE THE REASON FOR MY SUBJUGATION.” (Nejiko’s voice had cracked.) “PROVE TO ME THAT YOU DESERVE IT!  _ FIGHT BACK! _ ”

Nejiko came into Tenten’s hospital room not to visit, but to have a place where she could let all of her tears- complicated, angry tears- run dry in privacy.)

And then Naruto had stumbled onto the scene, loud and brash and golden-haired (and golden-hearted), and Tenten had learned things about Nejiko that made her ache for her teammate.

But she kept it to herself, because Nejiko never wanted pity. But it seemed like she wanted friendship, now.

Also, she was pissed at Tenten for ignoring her. “Stop staring at her.”

Tenten felt hot and itchy. “I’m not staring at anyone.”

“Liar.” Nejiko’s flat voice and blunt words made Tenten grit her teeth. “You are staring at the Suna kunoichi who defeated you in the chunin exams. For some reason that lies in anger, I assume, because you would not be so stupid as to develop feelings for someone who betrayed our village.”

Tenten sputtered, completely thrown off. Nejiko narrowed her eyes at her and waited. 

Finally, she blurted, “Well, you have feelings for Naruto!”

“Only sometimes,” Nejiko responded, surprisingly honest. “Most of the time he’s too stupid.”

Tenten forgot her anger and grinned. “You think everyone’s stupid, though, so you may as well crush on someone who really  _ is  _ stupid.”

“Shut up.” Nejiko gave her a look- it was one of the ways she smiled now, because she still tried to hide it a little bit but let parts of it show, where her lips would purse and her eyes would do all the smiling for her. “We have training. Let’s go.”

She set off down the road, hair flowing behind her, and not for the first time Tenten was struck by how differently Nejiko was from her cousin Hinata, even just physically- she was the tallest girl Tenten knew by far, with lean muscle and narrow shoulders.

Maybe once she was done with her lusty crush on Temari, she’d get one on Nejiko.

The thought made her grin spread even wider and a chuckle simmer in her throat, but she swallowed it down when Nejiko snapped her fingers at her impatiently, not even bothering to turn around. Crush alleviated, she ran past her teammate and towards the training field, tugging on Nejiko’s silky hair as she went by.

Nejiko let out a small gasp- of indignance, presumably- and gave chase.

* * *

Having a friend who was also a girl was nice. When Tenten unexpectedly got her period on a mission, Nejiko had extra tampons. She also let Tenten do up her hair in elaborate styles for festivals, because it was a hobby that Tenten enjoyed but rarely got to practice. They went to the hotsprings together once a month and got lunch together on their days off. They were best friends, probably.

* * *

Tenten was sixteen and the blood  _ sang  _ in her veins.

They had just finished a day of team training and Tenten had staggered away from a spar with Gai with a black eye and and sore muscles, but they’d also had a great time practicing nunchucks together. Nejiko was planning on escorting Hinata to the hotsprings and they’d asked Tenten if she’d like to come along, then somewhere along the way Sakura and Ino were invited. It promised to be a fun time, and Tenten set off for her apartment to get changed and grab her bag before she met up with the Hyuga cousins.

She paused long enough to scrub some of the residual sweat and dirt off her face, then, adrenaline still buzzing from her day of sparring, ran to the Hyuga compound.

Hinata and Nejiko were just outside the gates and beginning a slow walk towards the springs. Tenten jumped down from the rooftop and landed next to them, splattering Nejiko with the water droplets that had been caught in her hair. “Hey!”

Hinata greeted her quietly in return, while Nejiko flicked water off her face and back onto Tenten with an irate frown. Tenten grinned guiltily. 

“Sorry, did I get you?”

“Yes.” Nejiko made a face. “Why are you so wet, anyway?”

“Washed my face before coming over.”

“Why?”

Tenten squinted at her. “Is that a trick question?”

Hinata shifted on her feet awkwardly, and Nejiko glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “Whatever. Let’s go.” She marched out, arms folded over her chest and plainly expecting them to follow.

In the changing room, after Nejiko had stalked out of the room with Sakura and Ino, Tenten quietly asked Hinata, “Did something happen at the Compound? She was in a good mood after practice…”

Hinata stilled, then slowly resumed putting her bag away. “She was called away to talk to Father and the others. I am unsure of what transpired, only that it was brief and she seemed upset for a few minutes before becoming… angry.”

“Oh.” Tenten watched the end of her teammate’s hair flick around the corner. “I’ll talk to her later, maybe, and hopefully the hotsprings will have eased some of the tension.” Hinata nodded.

They walked into the spring, chatting about easier subjects- like the advantages of senbon over shuriken, but the superiority of kunai over both (which was a stance Tenten  _ would not budge _ on, no matter what, ever.)

Sakura and Ino were both slowly melting into the water, looking pleased, but Nejiko sat stiffly in the water, staring straight ahead. Tenten sat the way she usually did in the water, elbows propped on the sides of the spring as she stretched out her back. 

“Ahh, that feels nice.”

Ino cracked open her eyes to look at her. “Always such an old man, Tenten-senpai.”

She ignored her, and they all sat quietly for the next few minutes. The only sounds were from the water rippling softly against the walls, the steam in the air, and their breathing. 

Tenten cracked open her eyes from where she had closed them in time to catch Nejiko giving her a half smile and turn away again, her shoulders finally relaxing. Tenten smiled at her profile before closing her eyes again and sinking even deeper into the water.

A few minutes later, Nejiko said, “Tenten.”

She blinked up at her sleepily. “Hm?”

“You’re humming.”   
  


“No I’m not.”

“You are,” Sakura chimed in. Hinata nodded in agreement, and Ino said, “Sounded nice, though.” 

Tenten flushed a little. “Uh, thanks.” Nejiko was smirking at her, and Tenten stuck her tongue out at her in response. 

Hinata, Sakura, and Ino departed together half an hour later to do some shopping before Sakura’s shift at the hospital, and Tenten and Nejiko settled into the water again after saying goodbye. Tenten faced forward and watched her teammate through half-closed eyes, wondering when the best time would be to bring up her earlier anger.

She should have known better than to try to watch a  _ Hyuga  _ discreetly. 

“What is it, Tenten?” Nejiko hadn’t even opened her eyes. 

Tenten twitched a little. “When we left training today, you were in a pretty good mood. Hinata told me you had to talk to some Elders, and then you were pissed. What’d they do?”

As she had been talking, Nejiko’s shoulders had slowly stiffened again, until she was ramrod straight and staring ahead once more. “Nothing.”

Tenten rolled her eyes. “Nejiko, come on.” She stood up and crossed so she was next to her teammate- who had blushed and averted her eyes at the sight of Tenten’s naked torso. (It was flattering, maybe, because Tenten still didn’t know if Nejiko liked girls too, but it was definitely a cute reaction.) She grabbed Nejiko’s arm so she’d meet her eyes again. “Tell me. Please.”

Nejiko seemingly couldn’t look at Tenten, staring at some spot next to her face. “It is the same as usual. I am a Branch upstart and must settle into my place. Every achievement I make reflects poorly on the strength of the heir. This time it was brought on by my recent promotion to jonin.”

Tenten grimaced. “That sucks.” 

Nejiko nodded, her gaze falling to the waterline. She seemingly had nothing else to say. 

Tenten released her grip on her arm and sat back again before realizing that she’d inadvertently flashed Nejiko again. She didn’t really care, personally, but Nejiko went full crimson and slammed her eyes shut. 

Tenten chuckled low in her throat. “You have breasts too, Nejiko.” So saying, she reached out and poked the upper part of Nejiko’s chest, at the very top of what could be considered breast and not collarbone. Nejiko startled like a cat, and Tenten laughed outright (and tried to ignore the pink of areola that could be seen rising from the water, and the pretty flush working its way down Nejiko’s neck and tops of her breasts.)

She grinned at her teammate, saying “Wow, and I thought only retired ANBU were that jumpy-” when Nejiko suddenly set her mouth in a determined line, staring at Tenten with a blazing expression. Tenten blinked. “Uh, what-”

She was cut off as Nejiko jerked forward, and pale, soft lips pressed against her own.   
  


* * *

"Perhaps, if I had been a man, my burdens would not be so heavy," Nejiko mused to Tenten once. "I would have that advantage, at least." 

Tenten lifted her head up from where it was pressed against her hip, Nejiko’s long fingers carding through her hair. “And then things would be all that worse for Hinata.”

“That’s true.” Nejiko ran her fingertips over Tenten’s mouth, her cheeks, her eyelids. “And I would not have you.”

“Yes you would.” 

“You do not like men that way.”

“Yes, I do. I just like women more usually, is all.” She peered up at Nejiko through her lashes. “And I like you no matter what.”

“Mm.” Nejiko smiled tenderly and resumed the steady motion of her hand through Tenten’s hair. She rested her head back down at her lover’s side. 

* * *

Tenten was twenty and in love.

The single, slight advantage they had over the Hyuga Clan and its antiquated views and traditions was that it never even occurred to them that when the Hyuga prodigy went to spend the night at her female teammates house, it was because they were fucking all night long.

_ Two women? Having sex? No indeed, just gals being pals.  _ Tenten thought to herself giddily as Nejiko flipped them around so Tenten was beneath her, then grabbed her hands and raised them above her head. The position stretched out her torso and pushed her breasts against Nejiko’s ribs, and she smirked as the Hyuga paused to take in the sight of her. 

Under that pale gaze, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, preening like a smug cat. 

Nejiko responded by covering her mouth in a harsh kiss and dipping her hand into those lacy red panties that matched the lacy red bra that Tenten had been wearing under her little black dress, both of which were now somewhere on the floor along with Nejiko’s beautiful kimono.

So yes, Tenten told Lee later, date night had gone  _ very  _ well, but she would spare him the details.

But there was still a residual somberness to Nejiko that hadn’t been there before the war, before Hiashi was killed and the clan forced Hanabi and Hinata to fight for the position of Clan Head. Hinata would never truly regain the use of her right arm- Hanabi was always more forceful and dutiful than her sister- but the sudden and abrupt heart attack of one of the Elders had halted proceedings, and Hinata and Hanabi were doing such a smooth job jointly running the clan that the Hyuga Council had just let the matter go.

(It had been  _ the _ most hilarious coincidence of timing that Tenten had ever seen, when Hinata and Hanabi were preparing to clash again and the Elder let out a little “hurk!” and keeled over. There were definitely some branch members who had walked away with a little spring in their step.)

By Tenten’s own diagnosis, the cure for Nejiko’s PTSD and somberness was lots of kissing, cuddling, and sex with her girlfriend. Also the Hokage-mandated group therapy sessions.

Nejiko was mostly just living with Tenten at this point. They split rent and utilities and groceries, most of her clothes were in the larger dresser they’d just purchased together, she slept almost nightly in the larger bed they’d just purchased together, she’d moved all of her personal knicknacks into the apartment, and- most intimately of all- Nejiko’s tea set, the one left to her by her parents, was used every morning by the Hyuga to start their day together.

Tenten was just waiting for Nejiko to officially state her desire to live together. Whenever she was ready.

One night Nejiko was dropping by the Hyuga compound to meet with Hinata, Hanabi, and a few choice Elders, so Tenten was alone for the night. She dropped by the hospital to chat with Sakura over her break, then at the medic’s request brought Ino a container of  _ something  _ labelled “Biohazard” (and Ino had looked manically pleased to receive it, then squinted at Tenten and hissed, “No questions!” Tenten had just held her hands up innocently and backed away.)

She found herself in a bar, chatting lightly with Shikamaru and Temari as they stumbled their way through flirting with each other. It was fun to watch- like a spectator sport, where both teams were working towards the same goal and also tripping and flailing and getting flustered every time they made eye contact but determinedly trying to get the other team into their pants.

Shikamaru was briefly called away to chat with another person from Shizune’s office staff- he wasn’t officially an advisor, but he was in every other way- and Temari turned to Tenten. “So, how are things with Nejiko-san?”

Tenten grinned, always delighted to talk about her girl. “Pretty good! Huuuuuuuuuge sex increase after the war, because we’re both fuckin’ traumatized and want physical comfort!”

There was a long, drawn out silence.

Tenten wrinkled her nose. “Hm. I’m more drunk than I thought.”

Temari did not do a good job stifling her laugh. “No- um, you seem- uh, really coherent. Full- full sentences and everything.”

Tenten mock-toasted her. “I’m not too drunk to discern a terrible lie, though.”

“And use such fancy vocabulary.” Temari clinked her glass against Tenten’s with that fierce grin that used to make Tenten go weak in the knees. The thought made her blurt out, “You know, I used to have such a crush on you.”

Temari set her cocktail down with a jerk. “You- you did?”

“Yuh-huh.” Tenten nodded sagely. “After you kicked my ass at the chunin exams. I was so pissed and you were so hot and I was going through puberty and just so horny all the time and everything boiled over and if you so much as looked at me I melted.”

“O-Oh.” Temari blinked at her, mouth opening and closing as she searched for words. “Well, thanks?” Tenten threw back her head and laughed, the absurdity of the conversation finally catching up to her. 

After her giggles had petered out- Temari had buried her own laughter in her arms, propped on the bar in front of them, so at least they both looked ridiculous- Tenten opened her eyes, head still tilted back, and found the softly smiling eyes of Nejiko staring down at her. 

She lit up. “Hey!” Nejiko leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Hello.” She turned to Temari and gave her a much less loving smile, but no less warm. “Good evening, Temari-san.” Temari stifled her last giggles in her hand, weakly waving in greeting at Nejiko. 

Tenten watched, enthralled, as Nejiko turned back to her. “Would you like to stay any longer, or should we head home?” Her mouth was so fascinating when she talked, lips pressing together and separating, tongue tapping against teeth, words forming and falling from the back of her throat.

“I love you,” Tenten mumbled. That lovely mouth parted in shock, then a soft, wonderstruck smile curled the lips upwards. 

“I love you too.”

“Noice,” Tenten blurted. She was so pleased she fell off her barstool.


	2. Day Two: Cursed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenten deals with curses, among other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so late and so long....................... 
> 
> i will be doing most of the nejitenmonth prompts eventually, but at my own pace and with breaks to post my other works

It really, really sucked to be cursed in the modern era.

Of course, any era was considered the modern era when one was living in it, but Tenten meant the technological, Information Age, when being stuck as an admittedly adorable housecat was probably how she'd spend the rest of her life. People just didn't think about magic any more, so it didn't matter what she tried to do to show people she was a human- they just figured she was the smartest cat they'd ever met.

To bad she'd zoned out in calculus so often. Maybe if she knew how to take a derivative people would pay more attention.

Also, she was getting concerned, because she'd noticed her thoughts becoming more catlike over time- suggesting a permanent effect if she couldn't find someone who could change her back in time.

Unfortunately the wayward spell had picked her up and planted her back down someplace very, very far from Ino- who no doubt was feeling panicky and awful over turning her senior into a cat and then vanishing her. 

(The situation wasn't Ino's fault, not really, so if Tenten turned human again she'd definitely reassure Ino that she didn't blame her in the least.)

At least Tenten was safe- she'd appeared outside an herb and tea shop owned by a very nice young lady who immediately started feeding her, then adopted her.

She didn't know the woman's name- because the cat brain part of her didn't know or particularly care about human names- but she knew that she was small and soft and had dark hair and kind hands, and always smelled like cinnamon.

She talked to Tenten all the time, stuttering over some words, and it made Tenten think that maybe the woman was a little lonely. The shop saw a lot of business, so the loneliness was a little confusing to Tenten- but there was a difference between having customers and having friends.

How much time had passed since she’d come here? Tenten realized one day that she didn’t know, and the thought made her panic. She spent the night pacing in the shop and yowling at the moon, fighting to remember the distinctive shape of Lee’s eyes, the way Ino tried not to snort when she laughed, the rose-petal shade of Sakura’s hair.

There was a bit of string on the floor. Tenten batted it idly as she passed, then leapt up onto the tallest shelf in the room to sleep. 

* * *

The woman was running late opening the shop the next morning.

Tenten watched as she walked slowly through the shelves, taking inventory but seemingly in no hurry. It was already two hours after she normally opened.

“Miss Kitty!” Woman called in her quiet voice. Tenten occasionally trailed Woman around the shop when she was preparing to open, but today the lateness of the hour had thrown her off and she’d remained up on her shelf. “Where are… are you?”

Tenten meowed and stood up, tail twitching. Woman looked up at her with a smile. “There you are! Good morning!” She patted her shoulder and Tenten leapt down onto it, sleek and sure. Woman laughed breathlessly, delight painted across her features.

Tenten butted her head against Woman’s chin then jumped down and went to sit next to her food bowl, watching as Woman filled it with choice pieces of meat, then went off to finish inventory. Tenten ate breakfast, then settled in to snooze on a sunny windowsill. She was an attraction to customers, she knew it.

But not today, because apparently Woman wasn’t opening at all. Tenten lazily opened her eyes to watch the woman shuffle through some sheets of paper at the cashier’s desk, chewing her lip and smiling at them. It was a letter, Tenten realized, though she had no idea of the contents.

But she was a cat now. Cats were rude.

With this in mind, Tenten silently jumped off the windowsill and walked over to where Woman was reading the papers. She timed it perfectly so she had restacked all the papers, the first one at the top again, then leapt into the air.

Her paws landed  _ thump-thump-thump  _ on the papers, and she looked up at Woman with a loud, chirping  _ mrrrt! _

Woman laughed and raised her hand to pet her, and Tenten twined herself against her fingers in such a way that she was staring down at the near-perfect calligraphy on the letter. 

_ Hinata-sama,  _

_ I’m pleased that you’re doing well. Hanabi-sama and I were concerned after we didn’t hear from you for so long, and she was about to go charging after you with or without Hiashi-sama’s permission. You can my imagine my relief when your letters arrived. _

_ As always, anything you should need from the Clan is yours to claim. _

Tenten had to stop reading then, because it would have been too long for a cat to stare at a piece of paper, but she had a name for Woman now. Hinata. It was pretty. 

She moved suddenly, throwing herself against Hinata’s hands again, this time rustling the papers so the very last paragraphs of the final page was visible to her. 

The same script as before continued.

_ … and if it would suit you, I would like to come visit the shop. I am available the first weeks of March, so please let me know when would be ideal for you. And I’ve no desire to put you out, as I know how small your space is, so I will be staying at one of the town’s inns. _

_ I look forward to hearing from you. _

_ Yrs,  _

_ Neji Hyuga _

So they were to have visitors, then, sometime in early March. Tenten tried to think of what time of the year it was- she’d been cursed in late October, and had been with Hinata through the New Year, and these past couple days there had been many customers coming to buy a tea blend for the upcoming Hana Matsuri festival…

_ No _ . No, that couldn’t be right, because then that would mean Tenten had been cursed for almost five months now. And she couldn’t- that was so long- surely someone would have found her by then-

The door chimed as someone stepped in, and Hinata looked up from her peaceful cat petting with a wide smile. “N- Neji-niisan!”

Well, that was damning. It was officially early March, and Tenten had spent nearly half a year as a cat.

The man who entered and smiled at Hinata’s greeting was undeniably her brother, as she so addressed him. He was slightly above average height for a man, which meant he towered over his sister, with a build that suggested he exercised regularly. His eyes were shaped exactly like Hinata’s, though the color was more gray than lavender, and his hair was long and dark and tied in a knot at the base of his neck.

He was very, very handsome. 

Tenten realized she wasn’t having a terribly cat-ish reaction to his entrance- she should jump off the desk, maybe, and then slink off- but the man hadn’t noticed her yet, instead taking long strides and meeting Hinata in the middle of the room to hug her. Tenten sat down on the letter to watch as they interrupted each other through half a conversation, asking each other about the shop and the Clan and Hanabi and how have you been? No, how have  _ you  _ been? No, how have  _ you- _

It was the politest non-argument Tenten had ever seen, and highly entertaining to watch, but the man caught sight of her on the desk and went stock-still. His previously happy expression went terrifyingly blank, and he said in a low voice, “Hinata. What is that.”

Hinata turned to look at her, bewildered. “The… cat?”

“That is  _ not  _ a cat,” he replied, stepping in front of her and throwing out a protective arm. “That is something wearing a cat. What the hell is it doing here-”

“She’s, she’s a cat! She’s  _ my  _ cat. I ca-call her Miss Kitty!”

“Hinata, I do not believe for  _ one second  _ that your withdrawal from the Hyuga Clan has left you this oblivious. Just  _ Look  _ at her and you’ll see it.”

“You didn’t Look, I- I don’t see why you’re, you’re so sure ab-about Miss Kitty!”

“I am not so casual in my use of our family’s talents that they can be seen so easily.”

Hinata scowled at him. “F-fine.” She turned her gaze to Tenten, who had been watching and doing her best to swallow her panic. She hadn’t done anything wrong, just tried to make the best of her situation, but the man’s conviction that she meant harm to his sister did not bode well for her. 

Hinata tilted her head, and suddenly it felt to Tenten like the universe was funneling its gaze into the shop, holding its breath. Hinata blinked, and when she opened her eyes they were ice white, veins at her temples bulging and magic swirling at her fingertips.

Tenten blinked at her as all the fur along her spine wrenched itself upright and her tail puffed out.

Hinata looked at Tenten for mere milliseconds before gasping and staggering back against her brother, who caught her with a grim look. He did not seem pleased to have been proven right.

Hinata’s magic faded, and the universe sighed and looked away once more. 

But things in the little herb shop remained just as chaotic. The man shoved Hinata behind him again and barked, “What are you?”

How the hell did he expect her to respond to that? She could only speak in cat. She glared at him, fur still poofed, and tried to telepathically communicate to him that he was an idiot. 

Apparently some of her message got through, because his tight expression darkened into a glower. Hinata peeked over his shoulder, chewing her lip, and muttered, “She’s-she’s been with me for… for months, Neji-niisan; I-I think if sh-she intended ha-harm… harm, she would have al-already done s… so.”

Tenten meowed hesitantly in affirmation. The man looked like he’d swallowed a lemon, but relaxed his stance slightly. Tenten didn’t doubt for a moment that he’d be ready to defend his sister again at any second.

Some time later, Hinata had dug out some old spell books (and Tenten was kicking herself for not realizing that the former heiress of the  _ Hyuga Clan  _ had taken her in, of all people) and she and her brother were poring over them as they discussed the situation. Tenten was watching from her assigned perch on Hinata’s windowsill- Neji had herded her over there and told her to stay, then Hinata had absently scratched her chin and said “Please” so Tenten had agreed to it. 

Neji had tied up his hair to the top of his head, and Tenten was trying not to think about what it was doing to his cheekbones and jawline, because he was still an asshole no matter how good-looking he was. “I think we should use the truth spell first. We can find out her intentions.”

“O-only if we ask if she knows anything that might reverse the spell and help her.” Hinata pushed the sentence out all in one breath, which seemed to improve her stutter but did nothing for her lungs. She panted as she stared at her brother, wide-eyed.

After a long moment, he muttered, “Fine,” and averted his gaze. Hinata gave him a wide-eyed, half disbelieving look of smugness. Tenten laughed in cat.

They performed the truth spell, and Tenten felt it sink slowly into her, settling along her veins and rushing along with her heart. Neji scowled at her and asked, “What are you, who are you, and why are you here?”

_ This idiot. _ Tenten scowled back and snapped. “How the fuck am I supposed to answer that, genius? In cat?”

All of which came out in perfect speech. 

He looked insufferably smug. “As if I would overlook such a detail in circumstances like this.”

“Yeah, and did you include the part about making it compulsory for me to respond to all you questions?” Even as she snarked him, Tenten appreciated the warm cadences of her voice after not hearing it for so long. 

His silence after her question was very telling. She twitched her whiskers in a cat-grin and told him, “Fortunately I would like to get out of this situation just as much as you would have me out of your sisters house. Ask me your questions and I shall answer to my best knowledge.”

Hinata cut in quietly, “What is your name?”

“Tenten. No surname."

"What are you?" Neji asked, sending Hinata a quelling look. Clearly he had told her that he'd do the questioning.

"Human." She considered them carefully, then added "A sorceress. I study at the Senju Academy for Magical Beings."

"Oh!" Delight painted Hinata's features. "Do you know Naruto Uzumaki?"

Tenten thought of the last time she physically threw Naruto out of a lab for being disruptive. "Yes."

Neji cut in again. "How did a sorceress come to be caught in this enchantment?"

"What, you think I did this on purpose?" She glared. "I was practicing with one of my tutor students and she misspoke and then redirected a spell. An accident."

Neji did not look satisfied, but the truth spell did not flare to indicate a lie. "How did you come here? The Academy is on the other side of the world."   
  


“I’m not sure. I would conjecture that it was part of the spell mispronunciation. I was transported to this town and took shelter in the alley outside. Hinata found me and took me in.” She paused, and gave Hinata her best thankful look. “Thank you, by the way.”

Hinata ducked her chin and blushed, smiling at the ground. “You- you’re very welcome, Tenten-san.”

“And your intentions here?”

“Well- not  _ none _ , exactly. To remain alive and healthy. I wish to be reverted back to my natural form and to be home again.” Tenten wrapped her tail around her paws and tilted her head up to meet his icy gaze. "I mean no harm to any here."

He considered for many long moments, then nodded once.

"Very well. Hinata, what do you remember about transformation spells? I was never taught much about them."

"W-well, usually you say the… the spell backwards. T-Tenten-san, do you r… recall how it went?"

Tenten frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I can figure out parts of it. How long will my speech ability last?"

"Another hour," Neji muttered. He was flipping through a spellbook, but looked up to meet her eyes. "I can redo it if needed." 

"All right." Tenten hopped down from the windowsill and stretched, back arching. Out of habit she leaned against Hinata's hands to be petted, and out of habit Hinata scratched her chin. They both recognized the silliness of the situation of the same time, and Tenten snickered over Hinata self-conscious giggle.

"Per-perhaps when you are… are back to normal, Tenten-san, I c-can stay with-with you and contin- continue to give chin scratches."

"Heavens know I'll need it, after being a cat for so long." Tenten let out a  _ mrrrt  _ of amusement.

Neji just scowled at them both with a skeptical eye.

* * *

The mood was considerably heavier seven hours later, when all attempts had failed to get Tenten back to her human form.

Hinata was leaning tiredly against the wall after casting all the spells, knees drawn up to her chin as she watched Neji mutter furiously to himself over a spell book. The last speech spell on Tenten had worn off half an hour ago but no one had seen the point in replacing it, so Tenten was seated next to Neji on the ground, staring into space.

The first counterspell hadn't done anything at all, not that they had really expected it to, and each attempt after that had seemed better and better. But four spells in and they'd hit a rut, and had made no further progress in an hour.

Hinata’s fourth spell had caused magic to go sinking into Tenten's bones and had seemed truly promising, but when nothing further happened they had no idea how to progress from there. All the possible iterations of the spell that Tented could recall were scrawled out on various pieces of paper around the room, rustling in the night breeze.

Neji suddenly sat back with a curse, startling both of them. He rubbed at his eyes and said, "It seems like it should be much easier." Tenten nodded.

"I think we-we should wrap up for th-the night," Hinata said. “Miss Kit- um, T-Tenten, are you- you still comfortable wi-with sleeping here? I don’t… I don’t have anoth-er bed-”

“She can stay with me in the inn,” Neji didn’t even look up from his book. “My room has the space, plus I can monitor the spellwork throughout the night. You need to rest.” She did look pale and drawn, after doing all the casting that day.

Hinata was about to protest- and Tenten herself wasn’t sure about how she felt about staying with this man, who was admittedly less of an asshole now that he trusted her more but was still a stranger- but Neji cut her off and said, “There’s an extra futon in my room.” Tenten bit back a laugh at the idea of one smallish cat having an entire futon to herself and gave Hinata a nod. She chewed her lip before nodding in agreement. 

Soon after, Tenten was loping along at Neji’s feet as he strode down the street towards his inn, face carefully blank. It was late enough that there were very few people on the street, and Tenten’s dark fur was easily just a part of the shadows. 

Just outside the inn, Neji paused and furrowed his brow. “They are unlikely to let pets in, and my room is several stories up.”

Tenten looked at him. He didn’t have a bag or anything to hide her in… He cleared his throat and undid the tie in his hair so it flowed over his shoulders.

_ Oh _ . Tenten understood what he was doing now. (To herself, she noted that this hairstyle change  _ also  _ looked really good on him, but whatever.) 

He cleared his throat, again, and awkwardly indicated to her that she should climb onto his shoulder. She jumped up easily and tried not to use her claws to keep her balance. His shoulders were very broad and muscular, so it was relatively easy.

He shifted his neck and she slinked underneath his curtain of hair, shifting so she was fully covered. Fortunately, she was not a big cat. Or even a medium-sized cat. She was barely larger than a kitten, actually.

Neji’s skin was warm and he smelled slightly of men’s shampoo and conditioner, and as he made his way upstairs Tenten found herself fighting back a purr.

She realized, as Neji scanned his key card, that this was undoubtedly the nicest inn in town, and one of the nicest rooms. Clearly the Hyuga was accustomed to a certain level of comfort.

_ Lousy rich bastards, all of them _ , Tenten thought, flexing her claws a little in Neji’s neck.  _ Except Hinata _ , she amended. They entered the room, and she pushed off his shoulder to  _ thump  _ onto the floor.

“Very well,” he murmured. He reached out and turned on the lights, and Tenten stared at the elegant decor of the room. “I’m going to prepare for bed. I don’t suppose you need me to fold out the futon, do you?”

Tenten responded by leaping lightly onto it and settling in with her paws tucked underneath her, then blinking up at him. He nodded once and gave her the ghost of a smile, then went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Tenten was asleep when he came back out, so he turned off the lights and quietly went to bed.

* * *

The clock struck three, and Tenten rolled off the futon with a loud clatter.

Startled, she blurted, “What the hell?” and shoved herself onto her feet, staggering as she went up. Why was it so hard to balance all the sudden? It was like her tail wasn’t following directions-

_ Aha.  _ She no longer had a tail, because she’d turned back into a human. Her own body, as a matter of fact.

There was the sound of movement by the bed and the light suddenly clicked on. Neji sat calmly in the bed, arms raised and gun pointing steadily at her head. Tenten was almost too busy being blinded by the sudden brightness to recognize the threat. 

Hastily she blurted, “Neji-san, it’s me. Tenten.” 

He responded by cocking the gun. “Talk fast.”

“About what, asshole? I don’t know what happened. Maybe one of the counterspells partially took hold earlier and just finished setting in.”

Not one bit of an expression crossed his face as he calmly recited the incantation for the truth spell. Tenten rolled her eyes, “Seriously-”

“Start again,” he snapped.

“Fine, fine. God. It’s me, Tenten, the person you were working on all day yesterday to help me out of the cat spell. I intend no harm to you or your sister.”

“Hinata is my cousin.”

“Really?” She blinked at him, curious, but his dark expression dissuaded her from asking any more questions. “Okay, whatever. I intend no harm to you or your cousin.” He relaxed minutely, and she couldn’t help but snark, “Paranoid much?”

“I am rightfully cautious.” He set the gun back under his pillow, suddenly avoiding looking at her. “Let me get you some clothes.”

His slight blush as he said it made her quirk a brow, but as she reconsidered her new (slash old) body, she realized what had him so hot and bothered. Cats didn’t wear clothes, after all, and it stood to reason that she wouldn’t have any when she transformed back. 

So she’d been steadily showcasing her fully nude figure to him for the past couple of minutes. Nice. 

Tenten beat back her embarrassment and accepted the loose shirt and pants he offered her. She pulled on the shirt first, tugging her hair out of the collar so it could fall over her shoulders (it was longer than when she’d first been transformed, which was interesting), then the pants, tying the drawstring tightly so they wouldn’t slip off her waist.

“Done.” At her indication, Neji turned back towards her, still blushing slightly. It reminded her of Hinata, which made her bite back a smile. But he straightened up, taller than her by a good few inches, and she was reminded that in some very crucial ways, he and Hinata were quite different.

“I expected you to be shorter, frankly,” he told her. She blinked at him, surprised by how menial the statement was, and he grimaced slightly. “You’re very small as a cat.”

“Oh. Yeah, and I’m pretty tall for a human woman.” She grinned at him, rejoicing in the feeling. 

He nodded once, giving her a twitch of his lips in return, then asked, “So what happened?”

They were deep into discussion some time later, sitting on the bed and talking with their heads bent close together about the various phrases they had used earlier, scribbling out ideas for what had happened with Ino’s spell in the first place, when the clock chimed four, and Tenten was a cat again. 

She was midspeech when her words suddenly turned into meows, and after a moment spent staring in befuddlement at the pile of clothes she was engulfed in, she hissed in disappointment. Neji stared at her, one hand frozen mid-reach to assist her.

After a moment, he sat back and sighed, pinching his brow. “Well, as we thought, it’s not permanent. It seems you were human just for the witching hour.” 

Tenten, struggling out of the pile of his clothing, chirped in agreement. He looked at her and gave her a tired smile. “I’ll clean this up. You should get some more rest; we’ll tell everything to Hinata in the morning and maybe send a message to the Academy.” 

Tenten nodded in understanding, then in a moment that truly showed how much she’d warmed to him, butted her head against his arm before jumping off the bed and padding over to the futon to sleep. 

She didn’t look back at him as she walked away, but if she had, she might have seen the fleetingly pleased smile he gave her.

* * *

The next morning, over tea, Neji explained to Hinata the events of the night before. Tenten mostly zoned out, watching the refined movements of both of them through their elaborate ceremony.

They probably didn’t even realize they were doing it, but somewhere between having good manners and Neji showing respect to the heiress they were getting nowhere with the conversation.

But rather than cutting in, Tenten just laid down in the patch of sunlight creeping across the floor and allowed her eyes to close.

She was drowsing happily, a purr rumbling in her chest, when Neji gently nudged her awake by setting his hand on her narrow shoulder blades. She snapped her eyes open with a  _ brrrp? _

His mouth twitched again in what she’d come to realize was him hiding a smile. “Hinata went to open up shop. We agreed to go through the spellwork again later, and I sent a message to the Academy about your situation.”

Tenten nodded and arched her back under his hand as he absentmindedly stroked her fur for a few seconds, then seemed to remember himself and began packing away Hinata’s tea set. Tenten slinked out of the room and down into the shop, settling into the windowsill by the street and blinking out at the people passing by. 

After a few minutes, she realized that the group of young women across the street weren’t window shopping like she originally thought, but staring into the herb shop and giggling. Tenten half-turned to see what had captivated their attention and was greeted by the sight of Neji, a staff apron over his business casual clothes and his hair in a low bun, stocking one of the shelves.

If Tenten were seven years younger and surrounded by her groups of friends, she’d probably giggle admiringly at him too.

But she wasn’t, she was twenty-three and also stuck as a cat, so instead she rolled onto her back in the sun and purred. 

Customers flowed in and out of the shop as always, chatting with Hinata and trying to chat with a flat-expressioned Neji. Some of them offered her pets and some of them tried to get her to bat at pieces of string, but it was hard for her to pretend to be a cat again after being  _ so close  _ to reversing the spell.

After she couldn’t handle the cooing and baby talk any longer, she climbed up to the highest shelf to sulk and watch the crowd. 

Mid-afternoon, with the sun at its highest peak and the heat nearly unbearable, not many people were shopping. Tenten waited until she was certain the rumble had quieted until further notice, then leapt down on an unsuspecting Hinata’s shoulder. 

She startled minutely, but it wasn’t the first time it had happened and she quickly regained her bearings and smiled happily. “H-hello, Tenten-san. We’re about to… to have some lunch.” Tenten  _ mao _ -ed and climbed down Hinata’s back to follow her to the cashier’s desk, where Neji had pulled out bento boxes.

Tenten sprawled out on the countertop as they ate quietly and discussed the sales that morning- Neji seemed very interested in Hinata’s business experience so far, and she was happy to oblige him. 

Tenten, with nothing to contribute- and no  _ way  _ to contribute- idly hooked her claws through a bit of fish Neji was mostly ignoring, then ate it. 

He gave her an offended look, and she presented him with a happy-cat face and purred.

Some of the giggling young women from earlier had worked up the courage to come in the shop after lunch. Three of them fumbled their way through a conversation with Neji- who was more gracious about it than Tenten would have given him credit for- while a fourth petted Tenten with laser-like intensity, occasionally looking up at Neji and going crimson.

It was very sweet, and they all left with some tea and essential oils that they had asked Hinata about, very earnestly and excitedly. Tenten was feeling quite fond of all of them when they left, and licked the fingertips of the shy petter before she departed- startling a giggle from her.

The three of them were all in a happy mood when they closed up the shop and went up to Hinata’s apartment, and it was with a hopeful air that they pulled out their spellbooks and settling into magic.

They hadn’t yet heard back from the Academy, but Neji said that when he’d sent the note via a transportation spell, he’d received an audio spell saying that the Academy was currently in the midst of overhauling its message system and that it might take a couple days to respond to any messages, thank you for your understanding. So for now they were on their own.

But Tenten was already feeling much more hopeful- even if she didn’t transform briefly again tonight, she had two very intelligent magic users working with her now. Her odds were looking better and better.

One speech spell later and she was rattling through all the transformation spells she’d been forced to memorize in her undergraduate work, as Hinata took rapid notes and chewed her lip. Neji was staring through Tenten, a slight furrow between his brows.

Once Tenten couldn’t remember any more spells, they picked through them all to see if they had any common words or phrases that Ino may have used. They consulted more spellbooks, though at this point they’d read most of them to the point of memorization, and Hinata once more cast numerous counterspells that left Tenten feeling pretty damn magicked but did not change her back to human.

When Hinata was almost asleep on her feet- Tenten wasn’t sure why Neji didn’t cast, but she’d wager almost anything it had to do with the Hyuga branch system- Neji herded his cousin into bed, shut off all the lights, and locked up the shop before he and Tenten once more retired to his rooms for the night.

Tenten woke up freezing cold and unsure as to why. It was only about eleven o’clock, and she was still a cat, but her fur wasn’t warming her and it felt like she was being turned to ice from the inside out.

Somehow, she managed to stumble across the room and leap onto Neji’s bed, batting at him to get his attention. He startled awake, one hand going to the gun once again carefully tucked under the pillow before he realized, “Tenten?”

He was a beacon of warmth and she threw herself against him, trembling. 

He raised a cautious hand to her back and said sharply, “You’re freezing.” He lifted her up- which was very disconcerting, he hadn’t done that before- and settled her against his chest, arms around her and slowly seeping warmth back into her.

“It might be part of a spell. Is this helping?” She nodded and tucked her head under his chin, trying to leech as much warmth off of him as she could. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Tenten’s internal temperature righted itself, and Neji murmured, “I’m sorry you have to experience this.”

Tenten let out an almost silent noise in response. He continued, “If I were better at casting, or at the practical applications of transformations spells-” Irritated by his doubts, Tenten reached up and smacked his chin with her paw.

He let out a startled grunt, then muttered “Point taken.” 

Another few minutes passed in silence, and Tenten found herself feeling warm and sluggish. She slowly began falling asleep against Neji’s chest. After a moment of softly calling her name and her ignoring him, he laid back down in bed with her on his chest.

He stroked his hand down her spine. “Maybe I should get a cat after all this. A non-cursed one.” She responded by nestling her face against his neck and starting to purr.

In their relief at settling her back down (and conquering the coldness curse- take that, curse!) they forgot that Tenten might possibly transform back again that night, completely naked.

So it was with much embarrassment from both of them when the clock struck three, and Neji found himself cradling Tenten against his chest, his hand splayed across her bare lower back and her face pressed against his neck, short, sweet breaths puffing against his skin. 

Most incriminatingly, her leg was draped over his waist and between his own, a warm weight against him.   
  


It was definitely a position that screamed “post-coital intimacy!” despite the fact that Neji was fully clothed and under the covers.

They separated from each other with a lot of awkward stammering and averted gazes, and Neji hastily offered Tenten the blankets, which she yanked over her chest. They sat in silence for a few moments, staring determinedly in opposite directions as their flushes faded.

Neji cleared his throat a few times, but never said anything after, seemingly unable to think of the words. After a few minutes, Tenten muttered, “Uh, sorry. Didn’t think that one through.”

“It’s… fine.” They peered at each other out of the corner of their eyes, made eye contact, and immediately looked away again. Tenten coughed.

Finally, she said, “So which spell do you think affected my internal temperature?” and some of the tension broke. Neji was much better at spell theory than he gave himself credit for, and his fascination with the subject shone through when he discussed it.

He’d been talking for several minutes straight about the ways to conjugate some words that completely changed their meanings when he noticed the smile she was giving him. “What is it?”

“Nothing.” She bit her lip in an effort to tone down the smile. “You’re just really smart.”

“Thank you,” he said immediately, barely even registering her statement. It was obviously a compliment he was used to receiving. Tenten pouted a little, put off by his easy brush off as he continued his lecture. She wanted his focus on  _ her. _

He had grabbed the notepad and pen off his nightstand to illustrate the point he was talking about when she decided the best way to get his attention was to lean over and kiss him.

_ God, I hope I’ve been reading these signals correctly,  _ she thought to herself, parting her mouth slightly so their lips fit together. She was gratified a few moments later when there was the soft touch of a hand cupping her jaw, and Neji’s mouth moved against hers. She smiled into the kiss, inordinately pleased. 

They pulled away gently, grinning at each other. Neji ducked his chin a little, looking almost shy, and Tenten breathlessly giggled. “That was nice.”

“Y-yes, it was.” He flicked his tongue over his bottom lip and her eyes tracked the motion. “Do you- that is-” She tilted her head and smiled at him, that same fond smile as before she’d kissed him. He seemed to struggle for words. 

“When- when your curse is broken.” He paused and stared at her.

She raised her brows, still smiling, and he rushed on.

“Once you’re back at the Academy- well, I travel a lot, on behalf of the Hyuga Clan, and if I’m in the area…” 

“Yes,” she said immediately. 

He grinned. Tenten noticed he had the beginning of a dimple forming on one cheek and wondered why she hadn’t seen it before, then realized he’d never smiled so much or so widely at her. 

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’d like for you to visit. Or- I’d like to keep seeing you. I guess I don’t know for sure what direction you were going with that.”

The grin crooked into a teasing smirk. “Perhaps I was going to ask if you would travel abroad each time I was there so I could avoid you.”

“HA!” She snorted. “Yeah right. I’m hot, smart, funny, and I’m into you.”

She thought on it a moment, then added, “Plus I’m under a really interesting curse. I’m basically your dream girl.” 

He leaned forward and kissed her again. “True enough.” The rough edge in his voice as he murmured it made goosebumps erupt over her skin- except no, not just that, because the clock had struck four and Tenten was a cat.

Neji scowled and sat back in bed. “I really was hoping we had it this time.” Tenten nodded, then realized he probably wouldn’t be kissing her like that for the next twenty-three hours and her mood instantly flipped to the “enraged” side of the spectrum.

“FUCK,” she said loudly. Astonishingly enough, it was in perfect human speech. They gaped at each other.

Neji’s brow furrowed. “Can you… speak?”

“I dunno.” Tenten replied, then paused. “”Hm, I guess I can.” She grinned brightly up at him- as much as a cat could, anyway. “Progress!” 

He smiled and stroked her head. “Progress.”

* * *

Hinata delighted in talking to Tenten the next morning, and Tenten found great joy in hearing the sound of her own voice again. She talked brightly with both Hyuga cousins about their own work in spells, their personal lives, their interests, anything she could think of. 

(There was a certain undercurrent of affection between her and Neji that hadn’t existed the day before, and it made Tenten feel very soft and melt-y.)

It sucked when they had to open the shop and Tenten had to go back to just being a cat. She amused herself by following Neji around and twining herself around his ankles while he tried to walk. After the third time he almost stumbled, he scooped her up and placed her on his shoulder, where she happily cuddled herself against his neck and purred loudly during his conversations with customers.

They closed for lunch again, and while Hinata was doing some quick restocking Neji plucked Tenten off his shoulder, looked her in the eye, and told her sagely, “You are very annoying.”

She laughed. “Thanks, I try very hard.”

He pursed his lips and set her down on the counter, fighting a smile. 

They ate lunch in the back room. Halfway through their meal and conversation about which laptop was best for a work device, there was a pounding on the shop door. Hinata frowned and went to answer, then suddenly shrieked. There was a loud thumping of footsteps and a figure burst through the door to the backroom. 

It leapt through the air and towards Tenten, and she was just about to see if she could summon a sword or two to stab it when the very air  _ screamed  _ and the figure yanked to a stop.

Hinata stood with one palm thrust forward, a snarl on her face and her eyes a terrifying white.

Tenten’s tiny cat chest heaved as she gasped for breath, staring at Hinata around Neji’s arm- because he’d leapt in front of her to protect her, she realized. Once her heart rate had calmed slightly, (and her fur had smoothed down, she hadn’t realized she’d puffed herself up defensively but indeed she had) she leaned around Neji to see the attacking figure.

The second she saw the green color, she groaned. “Lee, for fuck’s sake.”

Lee, bug-eyed and frozen mid-leap as he reached to hug her, let out a muffled grunt of Emotions™.

“I know him,” She told Neji and Hinata. “He’s a graduate student at the Academy too. We’ve known each other forever. He’s just excitable; sorry about that, Hinata.”

Hinata turned that skin-crawling gaze upon her for a few seconds, then lowered her palm. Lee hit the floor with a thump and immediately sprang to his feet, yelling, “Tenten! You’re okay! We’ve found you!” over and over until he’d wrapped his huggy octopus arms around her and was weeping into her fur.

Normally she’d roll her eyes and snap at him for being dramatic, but she’d been missing for almost six months and was just as glad to see him. A purr rumbled up from her chest and she did nothing to quiet it.

Lee wiped his eyes on his sleeve and said, “Is that- are you purring?”   
  


“Yep.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Thanks.” She started grooming his eyebrow, which made him squawk and toss her back onto the countertop. She landed neatly, laughing at him.

She realized abruptly that Neji, standing behind the pair of them, was giving her a look that screamed “Introductions and explanations, now”. She twitched her whiskers at him in a cat-smile and said, “Lee, these are my friends Hinata and Neji. Hinata adopted me as a cat before she knew I was cursed, and Neji’s been instrumental in making progress on a counterspell.”

The three of them looked at each other, Lee with great joy and Hinata with caution. Neji was expressionless but still managed to exude skepticism. 

Tenten gave him as close as she could to a pleading look, and his shoulders softened slightly. “Lee-san, were you sent from the Academy?”

“Correct!” Lee gave him a thumbs up and a bright grin. “I am something of a forward scout, sent to find Tenten and check on her situation before I bring her home!” He turned that smile onto Tenten and she purred, feeling very fond of him.

Lee continued, “I will send notice to our friends and professors at the Academy, as we were all in a panic, and if it is all right with you, Hinata-san, I will direct them here to help with undoing the course.” He looked apologetic. “I am something of a failure when it comes to most spellcasting.”

Hinata instantly warmed to him at his self put-down. “O-oh, I’m sure… sure you’re no-t, Lee-san.”

“Yes he is,” Tenten chimed in, leaping onto Neji’s shoulder and settling into her favorite spot against his neck. She would miss it when she was human again and too big to wedge into it. “Lee’s awful at everything except self-directed combat magic, at which he excels in to a ridiculous amount.”

She thought on it a moment, whiskers twitching against Neji’s skin, then added, “Probably the best in the world.”

“NO!” Lee’s bellow made Hinata take half a step back. “GAI-SENSEI IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, TENTEN HOW COULD YOU EVEN SAY THAAAAAT!”

"Because you've surpassed him, dummy," Tenten said conversationally. "Whatever. Lee, is there another team on its way after you?"

He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "Yes. They should be here by this evening." He scrunched up his nose. "Ah! I must secure some accommodations for us all. Hinata-san, can you recommend an inn that accept about five other people?"

"O-oh! Of co-course, Lee-san. L-let me pull… pull out my ma-p…" Her voice trailed off as she and Lee headed to the office, Lee's bright, amicable chatter pausing every so often for Hinata's slow murmur.

Neji tensed like he wanted to go after them, but Tenten gently pricked his shoulder with her claws. "Lee's the nicest person in the world. One time he stepped on a worm and cried for twenty minutes."

He turned his head slightly so she could see his smile in profile. "Maybe I'm concerned on his behalf. Hinata is very fierce." 

Tenten couldn't stop a laugh from bubbling up. "I can't think of  _ one  _ circumstance in which Hinata would be fierce."

"Protecting the people she cares about," he told her, and reached up to stroke her head.

* * *

Lee came back over to the shop after he had rented the rooms at the inn and “helped” them with the last few shopping hours of the day, meaning he stopped every few seconds to exclaim over a product he loved. It actually wound up being a huge help in  _ selling  _ said products, and he and Hinata got along splendidly.

(Neji was still a little skeptical of him.)

Right after closing, there was a loud, brisk knock on the door- the back door, which was ominous. Hinata went to answer it- somewhat cautiously, and given what had happened with Lee last time Tenten didn’t blame her.

Tsunade Senju’s impressive figure stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest and her fingers drumming against her bicep. Her eyes darted down to meet Hinata’s, and she smirked. 

“Hyuga-sama. It’s been some time.”

Hinata numbly shook her hand. “Is th-that- have we m-met?”

“You may not remember,” Tsunade responded carelessly. “You were only a kid. You and your father were visiting the Academy so he could consult with us about the information we had on the Hyuga Clan’s history when we were expanding the library. You disappeared for three hours and we found you in the garden happily digging up our flowerbeds with the Inuzuka and Aburame heirs.”

Hinata was staring at her wide-eyed, but her eyes gleamed at the mention of the other clans. “Kiba and Shino!”   
  


“That’s right.” Tsunade grinned. “Now, I heard you’ve picked up an errant grad student of mine.”

* * *

Hinata was quick to welcome Tsunade upstairs, and then fifteen minutes later welcome Shizune Katō, Shikaku Nara, Sakura Haruno, and Ino Yamanaka.

Ino immediately launched herself at Tenten, bawling her eyes out and dampening her fur. (Behind her, the others were quietly going around with introductions). Tenten just sat in Ino’s embrace awkwardly until she pulled back, wiped at her eyes, and wailed, “TENTEN I’M SO GLAD I DIDN’T KILL YOOOOOOUUUU-”

“I am too,” Tenten told her. “And all things considered, it hasn’t been awful. Most people like cats.”

Ino sniffled. “Well, then, I’m glad to have provided you with a new experience.” She sat down primly, already over it, and Tenten grinned. 

Tsunade slapped her palm down on the table. “All right, let’s get to work. Tenten, Ino said you were tutoring her through a transformation spell on some  _ Daphnia _ . She stumbled with the wording, redirected the magic, and poof. Cat.”

Tenten nodded, flicking her eyes up to watch Neji as he entered the room with a tea set and began pouring for their guests. He half glanced at her and she blinked slowly at him, then turned back to Tsunade as she ruminated on the spellwork. 

Hinata had been sitting off to the side, a little squashed in the small room, chewing her lip in anxiety. She swallowed hard and said, “P-p-pardon me-me, Tsu-Tsunade-sama.” Tsunade turned her head to show she was listening. “Neji-niisan and… and I have been work-working with Tenten-san t-to develop… develop a c-counterspell. I-I have the… the folder here…” She drew it out and passed it down the line of Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade.

Tsunade snapped it open to peruse, handing the sheets to Shikaku once she’d finished reading them. He skimmed them with a much more analyzing eye than she did, then grunted, “Ino, you have your drafts of the exact words you used, right? These are almost all the way there, we just need the last push.”

“Yep.” Ino fished around in her boob pocket and pulled out a startlingly crisp sheet of paper. “I added more swearing to my most recent draft. For realism.”

“You’re a fuckin’ poet, kid,” he grunted, taking the paper. Ino grinned. “Thanks.”

Shikaku spread out all the pieces of paper and pulled a pen out of his pocket, then- after a beat- muttered, “Ah, shit,” and pulled out a pair of reading glasses. He put them on, grumbling.

Ino laughed loudly. “Shikaku-ojisan is  _ old! _ ” 

“I am  _ forty-six _ ,” he told her. “Your dad’s forty-seven, go bother him instead.”

“He’s not here, is he?” Ino shot back. 

Tsunade interjected, “For fuck’s sake, could you two focus for three minutes? Between the two of you shit-talking each other we haven’t gotten a second of peace this entire trip.”

“I’m contractually obligated to bother him as much as possible,” Ino chirped. “Part of the Ino-Shika-Cho agreement.”

Sakura squinted at her suspiciously. “You’ve never deliberately annoyed Chōza like that in your life.”

Ino seemed offended at the very idea. “Of course not! Chōza’s super nice.”

“ _ Brat _ ,” Shikaku muttered. He scrawled something out on a new piece of paper and slid it towards Ino. “Try this one.”

She looked stunned. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“What- I’m sure I’m not the best caster here-”

“You’re the original caster, so it’ll be most effective coming from you,” Shizune said, somewhat unexpectedly. Usually her presence alongside Tsunade’s was to keep her on track and mostly sober. Abruptly Tenten remembered that she was Ino’s undergraduate counselor- a rare role for Shizune, and one she volunteered for. “Go ahead, magelet. Sound it out first.”

Ino stared at her for a few more seconds, eyes wide, before a determined scowl made its way across her face and she ducked her chin to read the paper. After a beat, she said carefully, 

“ **!KCAB EMOC !KCUF -dnes t’now I ﹑ti nmad ﹑gnitsac llits m’I ﹑on -dnes ll’I ﹑siht xif nac I ﹑oN** **_!NETNET !netneT_ ** **-naem t’ndid I ﹑kcuf -netneT ﹑oN ؟netneT ﹑thgir -** **_ainhpaD_ ** **siht mrofsnart ﹑tish ﹑tiaw ﹑on -ym mrofsnarT**

**:htraE fo serutaerC dnA**

**tsiM fo stiripS** ”. 

There was a pause, and Ino took a breath. “Geez, that’s a mouthful.”

She looked up just in time to see Neji drape a blanket over Tenten to protect her modesty. She looked tired and a little worn, but she gave her junior a grin and said, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ino replied, a little stunned. Suddenly she grinned and said, “Wow! First try!”

“Nice one,” Tenten agreed. She looked a little self-conscious under everyone’s scrutiny, pulling the edges of the blanket tighter over her chest. 

Hinata looked like she had just as much secondhand embarrassment. “Tenten-san, wou-would you… like to b-borrow something to-to wear?”

“Yes, please,” she muttered. Hinata stood up and she followed, wrapping the blanket around herself awkwardly so as not to trip. Neji watched them leave with sharp focus, eyes fixed to the back of Tenten’s head.

Meanwhile Tsunade sat back and rolled a shoulder. “Well, that was very neatly done and much less complicated than I thought it would be.” Shikaku and Sakura both made noises of agreement, and Shizune reached around Tsunade to squeeze Ino’s hand. 

Neji felt slightly awkward in a room full of people that he’d never met, and looked at Lee to give himself something to do- he had been surprisingly quiet the entire time, which didn’t match Neji’s previous assessment of him.

Lee was smiling pleasantly and communicating in sign language to Tsunade’s apprentice- Sakura, if Neji recalled correctly (and he knew he did.) It surprised him, but Tsunade interrupted his thoughts as she carried on with her own. “Neji-san, was it? You’re the person who wrote such a thorough framework for the counterspell before we got here.”

He blinked, surprised to be acknowledged in such a way. "It was the three of us."

"It certainly wasn't much of Tenten," Tsunade corrected. "She's not  _ that  _ good at spell theory to develop a counterspell. If it's not sealing or summoning then it bores her."

Neji blinked. Tenten had listened to his discussions and analysis of spell theory intently enough- although, on reflection, the keen look in her eye had been settled on  _ him _ . A thrill went down his spine and he fought back a blush at the thought.

Tsunade continued, "So it was either you or Hinata-sama, and from what I recall she's much stronger as a hedgewitch than she is at dealing with the academics."

Neji nodded slightly, hiding his surprise at her knowledge. She took a sip of tea- and made a rueful face- and concluded, "So it was you. Not an easy thing to do, and you did it better than most employed counter mages."

(At the end of the table, Shikaku pulled a face like he wasn't sure if the jibe was directed at him or not.)

"Where and what did you study?" Tsunade asked Neji. He sipped his own tea to hide the set of his mouth and replied, "I learned the basics at the Hyuga, then took an apprenticeship studying magical items under a mage named Yugao. Under my Clan’s stewardship I now travel and evaluate enchanted or inherently magical items.”

Tsunade toyed with the handle of her teacup. “That doesn’t explain how you are so knowledgeable about broad spell theory.”

He gave a brief twitch of his shoulders to indicate that he might have shrugged in a different setting. “Some of it comes up in my work and I find it interesting, so I study it in my free time.”

Shikaku and Shizune both stared at him with furrowed brows, and Ino squinted at him. Sakura was giving him an evaluating look even as she and Lee continued to “chatter” at one another in sign language. (For his part, Lee looked like he was enjoying learning about Neji’s experiences.) Clearly something about what he said was puzzling to them.

Tsunade frowned and was about to speak when Hinata and Tenten re-entered the room. The first thing Neji noticed was that Tenten had her hair up into two buns with a braid swishing against the back of her neck. It made her face look heart-shaped and her eyes seem enormous and doe-like, and Neji for a wild moment contemplated counting each of her dark, thick eyelashes- 

The next thing he noticed was how Hinata’s yukata-style shirt was much looser around Tenten’s chest, parting to reveal her collarbone and the soft curves of-

He cut himself off. Tenten  _ was  _ interested in him, and they had some form of a relationship, but she deserved better than him staring at her in such a way.

Tenten didn’t make it too far into the room until Ino and Lee both launched themselves at her to hug her- and incredibly enough, Lee was chattering away once more with aplomb- and she laughed and threw her arms around them in return. 

In between the commotion of the three of them (and then Sakura too) hugging, Tsunade standing up and announcing their imminent departure for the night, and Shizune thanking Hinata profusely for her hospitality- Shikaku walked up to Neji and said in his rough voice, “A moment?” 

Neji followed him out into the hallway. Shikaku stared at him for a few moments, hands in his pockets, before saying abruptly, “You should study spell theory at the Academy.”

Neji blinked, startled. He’d been prepared to perhaps have a brief discussion of his experiences as an appraiser, or about Hinata’s situation as the emancipated heiress- certainly not this.

“I mean it,” Shikaku told him. “You’re wasted as an appraiser if  _ this  _ much knowledge and skill is just the result of a hobby. Here-” he shoved a card into Neji’s numb hands. “I realize that the Hyuga Clan may complicate the situation, but I can pull some weight to talk to Hiashi and go from there. If you decide you’re interested, let me know.” Just like that, the others had clamored out of the room, and Neji automatically took a few steps back for Tsunade and her entourage to pass. Shikaku gave him one last serious look as he allowed himself to be swept away with the crowd.

Neji stared after them all, feeling… odd.

There was suddenly a warm palm on his back, and- startled- he swiveled to look at Tenten as she slid her hand over his shoulder blade. “Everything okay?” she asked, eyes bright. He stared at her for a moment, collecting himself, then nodded shortly. “Fine. Aren’t you going with them?”

She laughed and rubbed her nose ruefully. “Lee forgot to account for me being a human again when he booked the rooms, so Hinata said I could stay here. Except she doesn’t really have the space, and to be honest I’m feeling  _ very  _ wicked, so I’m going back to your hotel room with you later.”

She gave him a look like she dared him to contradict her. He was too busy trying not to stagger on his feet- first Shikaku’s offer, now this. He nodded once, reeling, and she smirked. “Good.”

His brain was slowly getting back up to speed again. “Why did Lee only communicate in sign language while the others were here?”

She actually laughed. “Oh- that’s actually  _ his  _ little curse, but he’s had it for over five years now and it’s sort of settled in. It’s only ever when he communicates to Sakura- he had a  _ huge  _ crush on her when he was fourteen, and he was so annoyingly vocal about it that one time while he was gushing about her to an old witch- like the turn-you-into-a-frog cliche of a witch- she snapped at him that she’d rather he be struck dumb with love. Whenever he tried to talk to Sakura after that, even among a group, he was mute.”

Neji stared at her, shocked. “And the Academy did nothing?”

She flexed her shoulder blades in a feline-like shrug. “We weren’t in the Academy for another year after that, and Lee had already learned sign language in a bunch of different languages. Plus it actually helped Sakura and Lee become friends. You saw how they were at the meeting; they do that  _ all the time _ .”

“I see.” Neji’s brow creased as he digested the information. Tenten tilted her head and watched him for a few moments before asking, “What did Shikaku talk to you about?”

He kept his head staring forward, flitting his eyes to the side to look at her out of the corners. “Nothing. Well, not yet. It may develop further.”

She stared at him with her brows raised for a few seconds, waiting for more. When it became clear that was all he had to say about the subject, she rolled her eyes. “Well, thanks for clarifying.”

“Yes. Where did Hinata go?” 

“She was putting away the tea set after she saw them out, I bet she’s downstairs…” Her voice faded as she walked down the hall away from him, and he started after her as she approached the steps.

Tenten stopped suddenly and he almost ran into her, placing his hand over the small of her back to steady himself. She propped her hands on her hips and declared, “This place looks  _ hella  _ different when you’re not a cat.”

He chuckled. “I don’t doubt it.” He slid his hand from her back to cover hers, knitting their fingers together over her hip. “I’m glad we were able to help you,” he told her quietly.

She leaned back against his shoulder, her free hand reaching out to grab his other one and bringing it up to rest next to their entwined hands. “I am too.”

There was a muffled thumping noise from down the steps, and they startled apart to stare down the steps at Hinata as she gawked back, beet red.    
  


The silence stretched on, uncomfortable, before the three of them burst into speech at the same time, Hinata stammering out apologies for intruding while the pair of them stammered out apologies for the public display. Tenten eventually couldn’t take it anymore and started giggling wildly into her hands as the Hyuga cousins tried to out-apologize one another.

When they had tired themselves out, Tenten peeked out from her fingers and said, “Seriously, Hinata, sorry.”

“It’s- it’s fine,” the hedgewitch was quick to assure her. “I’m act-actually real-ly glad. I care for… for you both very mu-much. It’s… nice. Neji’s never really h-had a sig… significant other-”

Neji groaned loudly and pinched his brow, pivoting away from the stairs and taking short strides down the hall. He could hear Tenten laughing at him as Hinata continued to talk about how she thought he had a crush on a much older woman when he was fifteen (she was in her thirties), but he’d insisted he was just studying her magic techniques- 

Tenten was still snickering twenty minutes later as he marched towards the inn for the night, his grip on her hand firm even as he stubbornly ignored her occasional teasing. She cheerfully allowed him to drag her after him, her hand just as tight around his.

Fortunately for his dignity, he found that kissing Tenten was a highly effective way of shutting her up.

* * *

_ Applying Spell Theory and Linguistics _ ,  _ by Neji Hyuga. _

_ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Neji Hyuga is a professor at the Senju Academy for Magical Beings, where he has taught for the last ten years after getting his doctorate in spell theory at the very same institution. His research and experience in magical appraisal led to the development of the well-known Ten-cat countercurse methodology, a process of combining linguistics with base spell theory and applying it to countercurses. Since its culmination, the program has become widespread and has been instrumental in ending curses before their effects become harmful. _

_ Dr. Hyuga began his career in spell theory in 2015, when he helped develop the counter curse of the infamous Cat Case of the Senju Academy. From there, he went on to study at the Senju Academy as an undergraduate before traveling abroad to Suna for three years to pursue his apprenticeship. He then returned to the Academy for his doctorate and was immediately offered the position of his retired mentor, Shikaku Nara, upon the completion of his coursework. _

_ In his time as a professor, Dr. Hyuga has successfully expanded and integrated spell theory into many other branches of magic at the institution, including transfiguration, seals, and jinxes. _

_ Dr. Hyuga is married to none other than the Cat Case subject herself, renowned seal master Tenten Huang-Hyuga. They live in Konoha with their two children. _


	3. Day Three: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Neji  _ hated  _ soccer. He hated the stupid shinguards that collected every drop of sweat and clung to his legs, he hated the grass stains that got all over his clothes, he hated the brightness of the sun, he hated how he was constantly getting reprimended by the referees because he kept knocking his opponents over-

And he hated that his perfectionism meant that he wouldn’t let himself be anything but the best, despite his loathing.

But his cousin loved soccer-  _ loved  _ it- and the only way she was allowed to play was if Neji was there with her (and she’d given him such pleading eyes over her father’s shoulder that he hadn’t even hesitated) and Neji didn’t feel like just sitting around waiting for her for hours at a time, and Hinata had somehow convinced him for a time that soccer was really fun, so Neji had tried out and easily made it onto the Konoha Senior Secondary School’s varsity boys team, and now he’d played since tenth grade and was team captain and had hated every second of it.

Fine. Not every second. He actually liked his teammates, and liked the workouts and strength training in a masochistic the-pain-means-I’m-improving way, and he liked goofing around and playing one-on-one with Hinata in their free time.

And he really, really, liked staring at Hinata’s team captain’s legs while waiting for his cousin on the days she had practice and he didn’t. 

Tenten Huang- the soccer team captain in question- was in most of Neji’s classes and was smart as a whip, had a smile like a razor, and looked at Neji like he wasn’t worth the carbon dioxide it took to talk to him. So yes, he was extremely interested.

She definitely  _ wasn’t _ , but Neji hardly had any plans to actually ask her out. They graduated in nine months and he was perfectly content to have her ignore him for the rest of the year.

But she apparently had other plans. “Oi, Hyuga.”

He turned his head to face her from where he was reclining on the bleachers. She stood with her hands on her hips and her practice jersey billowing around her midsection, hinting at the toned muscles underneath. Her bangs were pulling loose from her tight braid and blowing into her eyes and she shoved them aside impatiently, a scowl on her face.

“Yes?”

“You know someone on the team can give Hinata a ride home. There’s no reason for you to be here.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“I do,” she snapped. “You’re distracting to some of our players. We don’t want spectators.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You may have some problems at the games, then. You know people usually show up to watch those.”

“Hilarious. Leave.”

He found her pushiness a little annoying for once, and brought himself upright so he could stare her down. “I’m just sitting here. I told Hinata and my uncle that I would drive her home after practice and I intend to do so.”

“She’ll survive without you.” Tenten took her hands off her hips and folded her arms across her chest instead. “If anything, savor the free time this gives you as you  _ go away _ . _ ” _

He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve consistently waited for Hinata like this for the past three years we’ve spent playing soccer. You have been on the team for that entire duration. Why is this suddenly an issue?”

“It’s been an issue the whole damn time, Hyuga, I just wasn’t captain before. I’ll even ask nicely, please fuck off.” She passed him a simpering look that made him grind his teeth, but he stood up and grabbed his bag off the ground. 

“Fine. Let Hinata know I’ll be in the library waiting for her.” He strode past her, leaving plenty of space between them despite his urge to knock his shoulder into hers just to prove a point.

Hinata found him in the library later, finishing a literature essay. He closed his laptop and gave her a smile that clearly said he was still pissed over Tenten’s attitude. “How was practice?”

“Um…” Hinata fidgeted with the strap on her bag. “Fine… weird…”

“Weird?” He frowned at her as he stood. “Weird how?”

“Um…” She fidgeted even more. “Tenten… was weird…”

“Was she caught up in the euphoria of finally driving me away from your practices?” He asked dryly, starting their walk to the car. Hinata trotted after him. 

“No, um. I know- I know she said to you that you were distracting players, and I guess you kind of were, because we have three new players that aren’t used to the fact that you’re there often, but…” She trailed off again, worrying her lip between her teeth as she thought. “They got used to it, but then  _ Tenten  _ was the one who kept looking over at you, and then when she saw I noticed she complained.”

He shrugged and held the door open for her. “So she wasn’t wrong about being distracted. I’m sure she did just fine after she kicked me out.” He tried to bite back some of the scorn in his voice, as Hinata and Tenten were pretty good friends.

“ _ That’s  _ the weird part!” Hinata exclaimed. She spun to face him, eyes wide. “She kept zoning out all through practice, during drills and when she was supposed to be leading us, and Anko was almost yelling at her once we finished. They were both super pissed, I think Tenten with herself.”

Neji frowned as he thought it over. “Does she dislike me that much?”

He walked several paces down the sidewalk before he realized Hinata wasn’t with him. He turned. 

She was looking at him with an analyzing eye, drumming her fingers against her shoulder as she thought. (It was one of Hiashi’s tics, and Neji found it strangely hilarious that Hinata- of all the Hyuga clan leader’s children- had picked it up.)

Finally, Hinata said carefully, “I don’t think it’s because Tenten  _ dis _ likes you that she finds you so distracting.”

Neji stared. Hinata scowled back at him- looking as fierce as a muffin- and said, “ _ Don’t  _ tell her I told you that.” 

She pulled the keys from his numb hands and unlocked the car, then clamored in as he blankly stared at the pavement where she had been standing.

* * *

It was Neji’s unfortunate luck that his literature class received a group project the following week, and Tenten- scowly, glarey Tenten- was put in the same group as him.

They had two other students with them- Lee, the nicest and most annoying person alive, and Kankuro, an exchange student that Neji knew almost nothing about- so at least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

But then Kankuro spun out a creative idea for one of the two required themes, and Lee got super excited and piggybacked off of it, so the pair decided to focus on one section while Tenten and Neji came up with the other theme.

Neji wanted to die.

Tenten was just as sharp-tongued and snappish as she had been when she kicked him out of girls’ soccer practice the week before- he hadn’t gone back since, for a myriad of reasons- and Neji had no clue how to interact with her. 

Unfortunately, his defense mechanism was to be biting and sarcastic- sometimes bordering cruel, and he knew it- so their discussion about themes quickly devolved into short, tense arguments followed by long, tense silences.

They’d scraped together some form of an idea before the end of the class- thankfully, because otherwise their instructor would have deducted points- but Neji was in a very sour mood when he entered the locker rooms to change for practice. A few of his junior teammates scrambled out of his way while he strode over to his locker, but he paid them no heed. 

He’d just finished changing into his shorts and had yanked off his shirt to put on his jersey when someone knocked on the metal door to get his attention.

“What.” He snapped.

“Easy, dude.” Kiba mockingly raised his hands in surrender. “You’re scaring off the kiddies. We need them to be on the team and shit.”

Neji actually growled at him, fishing his jersey from his locker. “Whatever.”

Kiba growled back, grinning. “Just take it out on the field and not your teammates, man.”

Neji grunted in agreement, and Kiba punched his shoulder before heading out to the field with the first squad. Neji found himself almost alone in a quiet locker room and slowed his movements, running a hand over his face and then tying up his hair in a tight knot.

Tenten usually didn’t get under his skin this much. He wasn’t sure why she was suddenly needling him like this- part of it was she was admittedly being ruder to him, when usually she was just a little sarcastic and dismissive- but he was normally calm and unflappable in the face of his peers’ dramatics. 

Maybe- and he hated the idea- maybe it was because he’d liked her for so long and had been amicable for so long, that her constant, contemptuous rejections of him as a person were getting on his last nerves.

Because he  _ had  _ liked her for a long time now, and he’d never been anything less than polite to her- had even tried to be friends with her- but she never regarded him with anything less than a sneer.

And Hinata’s idea- that somehow, Tenten actually liked him but refused to show it- felt very discredited. 

It was an unpleasant feeling, to be so utterly destroyed by his feelings for a person. Neji swallowed his melancholy and headed out to the field.

* * *

He hated soccer, it was true, but it was a nice way to work out a lot of pent-up emotions. 

The team rolled back into the locker rooms after a tough practice, jumping all over each other and yelling and throwing sweaty socks at one another. Normal stuff. Neji grinned as he watched three of his teammates stumble over each other as they tried to kick-line into the doorway, then smacked into a bench and fell over.

He himself was covered in a sheen of sweat, grass stains all over his jersey and a giant turf burn on his elbow and forearm where he’d caught himself after a fall. The bleeding had stopped, fortunately, and he’d cleaned out the wound, but he’d need to bandage it once he was home.

Hinata was waiting for him on a bench outside the girls’ locker room after a day spent in weightlifting, looking pink-faced and bright as she spoke with Shino. Neji crossed to her just as Tenten emerged from the locker room, adjusting her bag over her shoulder.

They made accidental eye contact for a few moments, as they were walking in opposite directions, but neither acknowledged the other beyond that. Neji felt a stupid,  _ stupid  _ thrill race up his spine at the sight of her- even though she’d made him so furious earlier today- and sullenly realized that he needed to acknowledge the fact that his feelings for her were just beginning to expand.

Now, of all times, when she’d never hated him more. Just his luck.

Hinata said goodbye to Shino and waved over her shoulder to Kiba, and they departed.

* * *

It was one of the first girls’ soccer games of the season and Neji had brought Hanabi along to watch as Hinata stopped every single attempt by the other team to even get the ball into the goalie box.

She really was an impressive player, and if she wasn’t captain the following year (along with the center midfielder, Sakura, and the forward winger Ino) then Neji was going to single-handedly start a revolt.

Hanabi cheered loudly as Hinata passed the ball the Sakura, who then shot it up to Ino, who set it up for Tenten to come blazing out of nowhere and score her fourth consecutive goal.

It seemed Neji only hated soccer when he played it, because every time he watched Tenten move on the field his heart accelerated in his chest and his palms got sweaty.

Just from the thrill of soccer, was all, and not because her legs were long and tan, and not because her hair streamed out behind her in a river of caramel-pecan silk, and not because the way she grinned at her teammates was fierce and proud and happy

His heart throbbed dully in his chest. He wished she didn’t hate him so much. 

Even her indifference at this point would be a welcome change, but ever since that group project- even though they’d been able to ignore their differences after the first disaster and get a good grade, and even had some light-hearted moments- Tenten had seemed to actively seek him out to spit caustic remarks at him.

It hurt more than he thought it would, especially when he saw her relaxed and happy around Hinata only to become cold and angry with him. His cousin still quietly maintained that Tenten’s feelings towards him were more complicated than what she presented, but Neji had long since decided that she was dead wrong.

The loud shriek of a whistle caught his attention again, and he jerked his gaze back to the field to watch as one of Konoha’s players shook off the cleating she’d just received as the opponent in question was sent to the bench with a yellow card, fuming.

Hanabi screamed along with the crowd at the player- home field advantage indeed- but Neji turned his gaze first to Hinata, helping her teammate back to her feet, then to Tenten, who was having a staredown with what looked like the entire other team and winning.

The game resumed shortly after, then concluded not long after that. Konoha won, of course, 5-1. Hanabi pulled Neji down to the pitch to meet up with Hinata, and he smiled as he watched her vault herself at her older sister in excitement. 

There was a commotion to his left, and he turned as Tenten extracted herself from the intense hug of Lee with an annoyed expression. He forgot himself for a moment and directed his grin towards the pair, amused by them both.

Tenten shrugged her way out of Lee’s arms and pivoted away, then caught sight of Neji and froze mid-step. 

Hanabi smacked into him moments later, yelling about ice cream, and Neji’s attention was diverted again. He turned back to his cousins, ready to herd them off the field and to the car- and to get ice cream, because he was a sucker- and subsequently missed Tenten’s lips slowly mouthing his name.

* * *

Neji looked up, surprised, as Tenten thumped her school bag down on the table next to him and stared. 

It was their calculus class, and while they didn’t  _ technically  _ have a seating chart they also sat in the same spots every day. It was weird enough for her to be changing things up- and especially for her to be changing things up in order to sit next to  _ him _ .

Tenten sent a blood-curdling scowl to the girl who normally sat next to him and she hastily swerved away to sit elsewhere- which Neji found funny in a sort of morbid way. 

But then Tenten sat in the chair with grim satisfaction and he was reminded of the situation again. “Are you… meaning to sit here?”

She stared at him like he was a bit of gum stuck to her shoe. “Obviously.”

His brow creased. “You don’t seem to like me very much.”

“I’m trying something new,” she snapped. He took the hint and fell silent, watching as she pulled out her notebook and pencils, then her calculator. The instructor came in a few minutes later, greeting them all before logging into the computer to begin the lesson.

Neji didn’t talk to Tenten for the next few minutes as they took notes and followed along, but he couldn’t help but glance over occasionally. She was constantly drumming her pen against her notebook, watching impatiently as other students struggled to write the answers down. Several times, he noticed that she had the answer already written out before their instructor even got close to solving the equations.

He had no idea she was so good at math, and was duly impressed- but somehow he didn’t think she was interested in his opinion.

They were told a few minutes later to work in pairs to solve a series of problems, and as Neji and Tenten worked through them (individually, Tenten had just shot him and unimpressed look and they’d settled in) she said, “You were at the girls soccer game the other day.”

He was unsure of what direction she was going in with the conversation, so his reply was hesitant. “Yes. I try to go to as many as I can, and Hanabi always likes to come.”

She punched a few buttons on her calculator, then said, “Haven’t seen Hinata’s dad come to too many, though.”

His walls came up instantly. “Hiashi always comes to the first and last games of the season, and a few in between.” He became aware of the frost in his voice and the annoyance on Tenten’s face, and softened enough to add, “Especially this year, because the team is playing so well.”

She shot him a quick, odd look from under her lashes, and he realized she was pleased with his compliment of the team. “What about  _ your _ games?”

“What about them?” He noticed he’d stopped writing and resumed again slowly, though his concentration on the problems was shot.

“Do your cousins and uncle attend those?”

“Some of them. But I care less if they do than Hinata, so certainly a fewer amount.”

She stared at him for several long moments, then silently continued working. After a few seconds, Neji did the same.

* * *

He wasn’t sure what it was about the combination of attending the game and their conversation, but Tenten was much less hostile to him the next few days, and after several awkward conversations with Neji waiting for her to do a 180 and fight with him, he realized she was trying to be friendly.

She wasn’t very good at it, frankly, but Neji appreciated her efforts and tried to tone down his own snappish responses when she hit on a subject that made him uncomfortable. They were almost having normal human conversations now.

She still sat next to him in calculus every day (the girl who had once sat next to him had since found other, less stressful seating) and they muttered to each other throughout the lesson. Tenten’s boredom was usually such that she would doodle all over the margins of her notebook, and while part of Neji was prickly over the sloppiness of her notes another part of him was entertained by the constant caricatures of their classmates that she drew. 

She’d caught him looking before but didn’t seem to mind, instead catching the amused smile on his face and offering a little twist of her lips in return. 

They also had class in the same direction after calculus, so they usually walked together while talking about the lesson. Neji was cautiously trying to branch out the topics of conversation, and so far they’d talked about various classes, soccer, Tenten’s dog, Lee, soccer, and also soccer.

Tenten  _ really  _ liked soccer, it turned out. 

Neji was able to sit on the bleachers to wait for Hinata again without Tenten kicking him out, and sometimes she’d even stop to talk to him a little bit before leaving the field to get changed. After a few times of her ducking out without greeting him, he realized she only stopped to talk to him if he wasn’t just lounging there after the boys practice- either he had changed and was waiting quietly, or if he was still in his jersey he was sitting upright and doing homework. 

He didn’t understand why that mattered so much to her- did she associate him lying back in his jersey with their past arguments?- but he was sure to immediately change his behavior so she’d at least wave at him as she left the field. On days that the girls’ team had weightlifting, Tenten was often out of the locker room before Hinata and would talk with Neji while he waited- and he was starting to suspect Hinata of purposely lingering so they would have more time in private.

It was the final stretch of the soccer season, and the girls’ team would be attending the regional tournament guaranteed. (The boys team had a few things to pull together still, but if they played their best they could probably make it through.) In solidarity, the two team’s coaches had the teams do weightlifting and warm ups together.

Neji and Tenten spotted for each other during weightlifting, ran next to each other on the treadmills, discussed drills for practices, and started bringing other members of their respective soccer teams to watch the other’s games.

It was a move that had Gai going bat-crazy with joy and made Anko kind of grunt and shrug, so before long almost the entirety of the girls’ team was perched on the bleachers (and Neji used the term “perched” lightly, because they were up on their feet every other second) screaming with the crowd as the boys’ team battled their way to the semi-final.

Neji was unabashedly looking for Tenten in the crowd when a lithe figure darted in front of him and chirped, “Neji-san! Nice game!” 

He had to take a few minutes to figure out who the person was- she was a senior on the girls soccer team too, but other than that he was coming up blank. He decided to play it safe and said genuinely, “Thank you.”

“Of course! I’m Kirika, by the way, I don’t think we’ve ever really met.” The name was familiar to him, and he said, “You’re one of the co-captains.” (There were three co-captains on the girls’ team, but Neji hardly ever gave a thought to two of them- if only because the third was Tenten, who was starting to laugh with him like he meant something to her.)

“Exactly right.” Kirika grinned, looking relaxed. “Anyway, just wanted to say congrats, and thanks for getting the guys’ soccer team to come to  _ our  _ games. It’s been really fun, and great for morale.”

“We’re always glad to be there.” Neji inwardly was floundering- he was ready for the conversation to end, not that Kirika was unpleasant in any way but because the only person he really wanted to talk to at the moment was Tenten. “And thank you for reciprocating.”

“Course. See you around!” She gave him one last smile and slipped away. Neji stared after her, frowning uneasily.

* * *

On their walk from calculus the next day, Tenten redirected the conversation in the middle of one of Neji’s sentences to demand, “Did Kirika get the chance to talk to you?”

“What?” He faltered for a few moments before remembering the conversation. “Ah. Yes, she did.”

“ _ And _ ?” She stared at him expectantly, but it was more of the unfriendly edge than he was used to these days. 

Neji was utterly confused and a little unnerved. “And… she talked to me?”

Tenten stopped short in the middle of the hallway and snapped, “So she asked you out?”

He gaped at her, flabbergasted. She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, was I not supposed to know? She mentioned it to me.”

Neji mustered himself enough to wheeze, “No, she did  _ not  _ ask me out.”

“Really?” Now it was Tenten’s turn to be surprised. “She seemed like her mind was pretty set on it…” 

Someone accidentally-on-purpose smacked into her shoulder as they shoved past her, and she winced. Neji pivoted, ready to knock them over on her behalf, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Leave it. We're in the middle of the hallway, let's move." 

She curled her fingers over his bicep and tugged him to a spot away from all the foot traffic. Neji's heart was beating  _ very _ fast, but he wasn't certain if it was from rage from Tenten's attacker, dread over the Kirika situation, or if it was because Tenten was touching him voluntarily.

She kept her hand where it was and said, “So when she went to talk to you she didn’t ask you out? When we were watching the game she asked me and Hinata if you were single, and then if we thought you’d be interested.”

His gaze sharpened. “And what did you say?”   
  


Tenten shrugged, and the motion made her hand squeeze a little. He fought back a shiver. “Hinata said you aren’t seeing anyone but wouldn’t know if you’re interested, and I agreed. Kirika said she’d scope it out and then went to talk to you.”

“I see.” Neji frowned down at her, wondering over Kirika’s actions. “We only talked about how it was nice to see the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams supporting one another, then she left.”

“O-oh.” Tenten ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “I… if she  _ did  _ ask- ask you out… um. Would you… what would you… would you say yes?” She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

He was so thrown off by her weirdly nervous behavior that he blurted out the truth without thinking. “No, I’m not interested in her.”

Her gaze darted up to meet his, and he hoped she hadn’t heard the unintentional emphasis he put on ‘her’. If Tenten figured out his feelings for her, he’d change schools and then identities. 

“Oh. Well. Okay.” Tenten seemingly shook off some of her shyness and gripped his arm more firmly to tug him in the direction of their respective classrooms. “Can I ask why not?” She didn’t seem offended over the slight to her co-captain, just curious.

Neji shrugged. “I don’t even know her. She seemed nice enough, but that’s hardly the basis for a romantic relationship.”

“Right.” They reached the point in the hallway where their paths separated, and Tenten slowly drew her hand off his bicep. “Well, let me know if you want me to run interference or anything. She’ll understand.”

“I- thank you.” He gave her a crooked, self-conscious smile and waved over his shoulder as he ducked into his classroom.

Once again, he didn’t turn back to look at her- and this time he missed her staring after him and futilely trying to tuck too-short bangs behind her ear as a blush worked its way across her features.

* * *

They were running on the indoor track together when Tenten dropped her next word-bomb on him. “Hey, you should do track and field with me and Lee this spring.”

He stopped short mid jog, and she got pretty far ahead of him before she realized. She turned and walked back towards him as several other runners swerved to run past them. 

(Ino Yamanaka smacked Tenten’s ass on her way past, but Neji did his best to ignore it. It would be rude to think of Tenten’s ass in any capacity, but when she was talking to him was an  _ especially bad  _ time.)

“Earth to Neji?” She called. “Did I break you?”

“No, no…” He collected himself and slowly began moving again. Hinata ran past him, panting out a greeting. (She did it every single time they passed each other on the track, even if it was only ten seconds between calls. Because Hinata.) “What makes you say that?” He asked Tenten.

“Because I think you’re a good runner and that we would have fun,” Tenten said easily. “And it’d give you something to do in the spring.”

It was her second reason- because they’d have fun, because Tenten actually liked him now and they were friends- that made Neji say, “I’ll look into it, then.”

“Cool.” They picked up the pace and lapped the group that had passed them. Hinata wheezed, “Hi… Neji… niisan… hi… Tenten…” Tenten said “Hey, Hina,” then reached out and smacked Ino’s ass.

* * *

Though Kirika greeted him at practices and if they saw one another in the halls, she didn’t actively approach him again to talk, and slowly Neji realized that for whatever reason, she wasn’t going to ask him out. The little bit of stress he’d been holding onto about it eased.

Tenten, for whatever reason, was feeling just as relaxed as he was about it. “It seemed like it was bothering you,” was the only reason she told him when he asked. They were at her apartment studying together, though mostly they were just talking and having snacks while Tenten’s dog, Barky, snoozed away with her face on Neji’s lap and her rear legs in Tenten’s. 

(Tenten was apparently seven years old when she named the dog, hence the creativity.)

Neji idly crossed out a poorly constructed sentence in one of his essay drafts- he  _ always  _ wrote his first drafts by hand, always, and Tenten could tease him about it all she wanted- and said, “It’s evidently settled down already, but thank you.” He picked up another carrot to eat, and Barky whuffed plaintively at him, eyes wide.

“Don’t feed her any more,” Tenten warned. Barky looked unspeakably sad.

Neji guiltily stared at Tenten as he lowered the other half of the carrot down. She squawked indignantly, “No, Neji, don’t- hey!” The carrot was gone, and Barky was chomping happily. 

“Nejiiiii!” Neji grinned at the whine in Tenten’s voice. “She’s gonna get fat now!”

“Ridiculous.” Neji ate another carrot. “Carrots are healthy. You’re just jealous because now she likes me more than she likes you.”

There was a sudden scuffling noise, and he turned just in time to get smacked in the face with one of the decorative pillows. “You shut your mouth, Hyuga.” 

Neji picked the pillow up and chucked it back. “How witty.”

Barky let out an annoyed huff as they jostled her around, but Tenten ignored her as she surged up onto her knees so she could rain pillows down on Neji. “She’s almost ten years old and you’re going to fuck up her digestive system!”

“She likes carrots! And she deserves them.” They looked at Barky, who had reluctantly moved to the floor and was staring up at them with hurt, offended eyes. Neji turned to Tenten and said, “Look at her. You’re a monster.”

She let out an incomprehensible shriek of rage and full-on tackled him.

* * *

The week before the girls’ soccer team regional tourney, Hinata hosted a party for them to celebrate the season. Neji got home from dropping Hanabi off at a friend’s house for the evening to find the kitchen and living room filled with teenage girls.

They weren’t unpleasant in any way, but it was… jarring.

Hiashi was watching the crowd from the edge of the kitchen, seemingly to make sure no messes were made until the team got settled. He greeted Neji with a nod. “Did everything go well with Hanabi?”

“Yes. Moegi’s parents offered to drop her back off in the morning at around nine-thirty.”

“Very well. Thank you for taking her.” Hiashi had seemingly determined that no one was going to set anything on fire and retreated to his study. If he were anyone else, Neji would have called it running away.

The team trickled slowly out of the kitchen after Hiashi left, heading over to where the television had been set up to watch every single soccer movie ever created. Neji looked around and realized that the only person still in the kitchen was him, and he went to the refrigerator to pull out the leftover tofu and vegetables he’d made for himself the other day. They weren’t technically supposed to eat in their rooms, but Neji figured tonight Hiashi would make an exception.

He turned around to head upstairs just as Tenten walked into the kitchen, and they both spent a moment staring at each other before realization hit them and they greeted one another.

“Hey, man, haven’t seen you in forever,” Tenten said. They’d gone with Hinata and Hanabi to get bubble tea just the day before.

“Likewise,” said Neji. She grinned and pointed to his dish with a stick of pocky. “Whatcha eatin’?”

“Tofu stir fry.” He indicated vaguely. “You?”

“All sorts of crap. Anko’s gonna curse us all.” She sat down in one of the stools of the bar- where they’d put out most of the snacks- and started refilling her plate. “Mm, did you see Sarutobi-sensei’s email about the calc exams?”

They quickly settled into conversation, moving on from classwork to discussions about a sports gear store that was opening nearby. Tenten had a little throwaway comment- “I mean, you’ve played soccer for three years, so clearly you’re committed-” that prompted Neji to blurt, “Yes, but I hate soccer.”

“Haha,” she said, clearly thinking he was joking. He gave her a look as he took a bite of his tofu, and she gaped. “You-  _ no _ . No way. You’re the team captain! And you’re really good!”

“I literally only started playing because Hinata did. I’ve hated almost every second of it but I refuse to be anything but the best.”

“Oh my  _ god _ .”

“Yes. Soccer is the worst.”

“Oh my- don’t even say that to me. How could you possibly think that?” She was still giving him that wide-eyed look. 

He set down his mostly-empty dish so he could use his hands to explain. “One,” he began. Tenten stifled a laugh, clearly anticipating a stupid tirade. 

“ONE,” he said even louder. “The sweat. It gets under the shin guards and they’re impossible to deal with. Two. It’s too bright.”

She laughed again. “How is that even a complaint?”

“It is TOO BRIGHT.” He insisted. (Admittedly, some of his attitude was a little played up so Tenten would smile at him like that again.) “Three. If I don’t have stupid grass stains, then I have turf burns.”

“Fall down less,” she suggested. “Seems straightforward enough to me.” He flicked a piece of broccoli at her. She ate it, snickering. “Four,” he continued, “I’m not allowed to just knock over the idiots who get in my way.”

“Oh my god, they are  _ playing  _ the  _ game _ , Neji.”

“They’re bad at it and should just get out of my way.”

She giggled, and a thrill went down his spine at the sound. “Wouldn’t be much of a match, then.”

“Good,” he said, unrepentant. “Then they’ll quit sooner.”

“It can’t be  _ that  _ bad,” she reminded him. “You’ve kept playing for this long. And grass stains and turf burns go away, look-” she leaned forward and grabbed his arm, where he’d gotten hurt at the beginning of the season. “This is like, mostly healed,” she told him. She carelessly yanked his arm closer so she could comfortably view the scabs, inadvertently drawing the rest of him closer as well. Neji could smell the scent of her shampoo, and his heart began to pound.

Tenten ran her fingers over the scab... then poked the worst of it sharply.

The bubble burst. Neji yanked back his arm with a scowl. “Ouch.”

“You’re fine,” she told him, giving him a wide smile. “Can I have the rest of your stir fry? The broccoli was delicious.” He passed her the dish and his chopsticks, then offered, “If you’re hungry for something besides snacks I’m sure we can either make or order something.”

She scrunched up her nose as she bit into some tofu. “Seems rude.”

“You just stole my dinner from me, I think you’re past that point. We could ask the rest of the team as well.”

“If you’re sure. What kind of food?”

“Pizza would be straightforward enough. Any allergies or special diets that you know of?”

“Um, I think Miyu and Ino are vegetarian, but I’ll go ask.” She slipped off the barstool, Neji’s stir fry in hand, and trotted into the next room. He heard her yelling something, a few yells in return, and then she came back in. “We just need to make sure at least one half of a pizza is vegetarian and we’re good. We’ve got a few requests for seafood pizza, so we should make sure we get a large one of those…”

“Hold on,” Neji pulled out a notepad and a pen and slide it to her. She flashed him a quick grin and said, “Okay. There’s seventeen players currently here, so that’s like- six-ish large pizzas? If each one serves three-”

“Get seven, you’re feeding soccer players,” Neji advised. She laughed. 

“Right. Oh, and if you and your uncle want any-”

Neji propped his chin on his hands thoughtfully. “I don’t think Hiashi’s had pizza in his entire life.”

She widened her eyes in excitement. “Well, let’s get him some! Expand his palette!”

“I doubt he’s interested.”

Very seriously, she told him, “Neji, this is  _ what we do  _ in Konoha soccer, we’re improving lives one pizza at a time.”

He laughed. “If he wants some, he’ll take some. What flavors do you think we should have?”

“Right, right. How about two seafood ones, two margherita, one veggie… what else?”

“I like mushrooms,” he suggested. She nodded and wrote it down. “One of those, then, and one with corn? I freaking love corn pizza. Even if no one else eats any I bet I could eat an entire large corn pizza by myself.”

“Bet.” At Neji’s dare, she grinned and scrawled it down. "What pizza place should we order from?"

"Someplace with online ordering." Neji grabbed his laptop off the charging station and set it down in front of Tenten, then stepped around the bar counter to enter his password for her. Fortunately the last thing he had been doing was their chemistry homework, so there were no incriminating websites open for Tenten to make fun of.

She found a pizza place nearby and started placing the order online. “You have drinks here, right?”

Neji shrugged, reaching out to grab the empty stir fry dish and put it by the sink. “Whatever Hinata got for tonight is probably all we have.”

“We should be okay, then.” She scrolled through the website for a moments before she started making selections, humming to herself as she consulted the list. Neji pulled his wallet out of his pocket and slid his card over to Tenten.

She balked. “Neji, no.”

“Yes.”

“ _ No _ .” 

“Yes. Who else would pay for it? I’m not going to walk in there and make everyone cough up five bucks.”

“I could-”

“No.”

“Um,  _ yes _ -”

“No, Tenten. I have an allowance that I never use and I want to do this. Just buy me some tea later and it’ll be fine.”

“That is nowhere  _ near  _ the same thing.” She scowled up at him. He smiled easily back and leaned against the countertop. “Just buy the pizzas, Ten.”

She pulled a face at the nickname- he’d jokingly started calling her “Ten” and “Tennie” a few days ago, because her affronted reaction was too good to pass up- but picked up the card to start paying.

He figured she would go back to hang out with the team once they were done ordering, but she surprised him by staying in the kitchen to talk to him and steadily work her way through the cucumbers.

They’d worked themselves up into a minor debate about the best types of fruit, and Tenten had stopped arguing and was just chucking cucumber slices at his face angrily when the doorbell rang with the pizzas.

They went to the door together to unload the pizzas. Tenten stacked them all up in Neji’s arms and gently shoved him into the kitchen, then bellowed down the hall, “PIZZA!”

There were many yells and much thumping, and before long the entire team was spilling into the kitchen and grabbing plates.

In the middle of the chaos, Tenten shoved her hand against Neji’s chest to push him out of the warpath of several hungry soccer players. She then handed him a plate with a few pieces of mushroom pizza on it and (hand still on his chest and making his heart flip around rapidly) said, “Here. Escape.”

He chuckled (somewhat breathlessly). “Thanks.” He accepted the plate from her, not quite able to stifle his urge to touch his fingers to hers as he did so. “See you later, then.”

He departed for his room, feeling Tenten’s gaze on him for a few moments and desperately trying to walk normally.

* * *

Tenten folded a piece of pizza in half and took a huge bite, humming happily to herself as she watched Keira Knightley celebrate another goal.

Kirika sat down next to her, close enough they were practically cuddling- she was very touchy-feely. Tenten grinned at her and mockingly smooched her teammate’s head when she put it down to rest on her shoulder.

“By the way,” Kirika murmured quietly, eyes tracking the soccer ball on screen, “I’ve decided not to ask Neji-san out.”

Fortunately Tenten was chewing her pizza, so she was spared from having to answer.

Kirika reached out and snitched some of Tenten’s garlic sauce for her own pizza slice, then continued, “I think  _ you  _ probably should, though.” Tenten’s saving grace, her mouthful of pizza, instantly turned against her and lodged itself in her throat.

Kirika waited for her coughing to subside, grinning. “I’m sure he’ll say yes,” she added, the final twist of the knife. 

Tenten’s coughing renewed itself, and she pounded her chest to clear her throat. Kirika’s grin was a little evil- she was clearly enjoying Tenten’s flustered reaction. “Anyway, best of luck!” She stood up and crossed over to where Sakura and Ino had their own cuddle pile going, then nestled in.

Tenten stared after her, then scowled and angrily tore off another bite of pizza, ruminating on the perils of flirting in public. Stupid Neji, being thoughtful and buying her entire team pizza, and finding her shitty surly attitude funny and not off-putting, and hanging out with her at her apartment and never once asking the nosy question about where the hell her parents or guardians even were, and smiling with half a dimple and a crooked little grin like he wasn’t used to showing it-

And for being super jacked. God. She’d touched his chest earlier and almost whimpered.

And on the days when he used to lounge around on the bleachers, elbows propped on the bench behind him, soccer jersey tugged up around his abdomen to cool off and his face turned up to the sun-  _ unf _ . 

(He didn’t do it anymore, for whatever reason, and Tenten was still trying to decide if she was glad to have her brain cells back or if she missed the  _ very  _ nice sight of him to drool over during practice.)

Tenten took a sip of her melon soda and scowled. It’d been easy enough to deal with her thoughts when she’d just been attracted to him- she just never gave him the time of day- but then she’d see him being so thoughtful with his cousin, and he was always so polite to  _ her _ , and then she felt bad she was bitchy to him all the time and had softened up  _ just  _ a little and now she was completely crazy about him.

And her feelings developed so rapidly that she couldn’t have stopped them if she tried. A month and a half later and  _ bam _ , she thought about him constantly and seeing him made her days brighter.

She only hoped she did the same for him. She thought so- he had a smile for her that she’d never seen him direct to anyone else.

Feeling a little better, she turned her attention back to the best soccer movie in the world.

* * *

It was the best possible way to end her final year of high school soccer- regional champions.

Tenten screamed with her teammates as they celebrated their win on the field, all of them simultaneously trying to jump in one another’s arms despite the sweat covering all their skin. Ino buried her face into Tenten's shoulder, sobbing happily and getting snot and tears everywhere.

Tenten laughed and wiped at her own nose, which was still bleeding a little from where she'd had a hard collision and taken a fall. She gently extracted herself from Ino's embrace and went over to Anko, who clapped her on the shoulder and hollered "Not bad, punk!"

Tenten screamed back, "Thanks! Surprised you were able to pull yourself together enough to coach us!"

She ducked away from Anko's punch with a screech of laughter. Her eyes settled on the edge of the field, and after a moment she crossed over to the other team's captains to shake their hands and congratulate them on a great game and a strong season.

They took compliments graciously, some disappointment still in their eyes but fading into acceptance, and offered her the same in return. The Konoha team had mustered up behind her by the time they'd finished talking, and the respective captains of each team directed their teammates into shaking hands.

Things were settling down a little now, but the adrenaline was still soaring in Tenten's veins. She felt itchy and impatient, the urge to keep moving, to keep playing the game, as strong as ever-

Suddenly she spied Neji and Hanabi, talking to a flushed Hinata at the edge of the field, and then Hinata's father appeared too, and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder as he smiled down at her, and then he was guiding her over to speak with some other people and Hanabi followed, and Neji was alone and walking towards her with that crooked grin-

He stopped in front of her, looking just as excited as any member of the team over their victory. "Tennie-"

"Shut up," she said, and kissed him.

  
  



	4. Day Four: Ancient Beings

She is slow and stiff and covered in moss, leaves dragging in her hair and only her nose and mouth exposed under her tattered veil but as she reaches down to tilt Neji’s face up to the light, he thinks she is beautiful.

He does not feel the fear that so many of his companions spoke of when they met the Lady of the Forest, only awe and a sense of homecoming. Perhaps it is her height that upset them so- she is as tall as the trees surrounding them, and must kneel in order to assess him.

For that is what she is doing, he realizes, she is looking at him,  _ into _ him, deciding what she thinks of him. And whatever she decides will last as long and be as unchanging as the forests themselves, so he can only hope she sees something in him that she finds favorable.

She slowly withdraws her fingertips from his chin, then reaches out to briefly touch the pad of her index finger to Byakugan’s nose. His horse, nervous since they entered the forest, finally calms down at her touch and breathes deeply.

The Lady draws back, then stands up to her full height again. An eastern wind spills through the treetops, sending the branches bowing and scraping in the breeze and leaves swirling around her bare feet. She raises one hand and beckons, not to Neji, but to something he cannot see.

She then turns and walks back into the dark of the forest, fading from his view.

His throat feels dry. He does not know what to think, if she judged him worthy or not, but she did not stop his path into the forest and he knows he must continue on.

He urges Byakugan forward and the stallion once more begins to walk along the faded path, much more calmly than he had only minutes before. The sounds of the forest are returning to their normal volume, now that the Lady has left again.

It was his first and only clue that she was approaching- all at once, the sounds of the forest had amplified and expanded in joy, the birds singing louder, the creek bubbling more merrily, the insects and frogs lifting their pitch and the trees green and lush.

It is only now that the Lady has left him that he has begun feeling any sort of unease, and his eyes search the forest desperately for any sign of danger. Byakugan feels some of his tension and his previously calm state slowly dissipates- he is a war horse, unused to long treks and silences. Hanabi’s riding mare would have been a better choice for this task, but Neji has been through so much with Byakugan that riding any other steed would feel like a betrayal.

They travel cautiously for several hours until they reach a deep canyon that borders the edge of the forest. Neji is unsettled- he had not thought he would reach the canyon for another two and a half days of traveling. He can only hope it is the Lady’s blessing, and presses on, guiding Byakugan along the edge from a safe distance.

He can hear the faint roar of a river below and closes his eyes to savor it- he has been settled in town for a long time now, and he has missed the sights and sounds of the wilderness. He loves his cousins and aunt and uncle, but they cannot replace the years he spent traveling.

It is the closest to true freedom that he has ever achieved, and he only wishes that he was here in better circumstances.

Because his aunt is dying, slowly but surely, and the only way to save her is to bring a healer from the mountains, one whose expertise outweighs that of the healers in the town. They had tried their best, but had sat back with shaking heads and troubled eyes.

Neji knows who everyone is secretly hoping he will bring- Tsunade Senju- but no one has seen her for many years, not since her fiance’s death, the discovery of her teammate’s crimes and his later escape, and her other teammate’s retreat into solitude.

Tsunade had left with her almost-niece for lands unknown and never looked back, disappearing from the world’s view with no trace of her since.

But Neji cannot bear for someone else he cares for to die, so he will find her.

Nighttime falls, and Neji sets up camp for himself and Byakugan. The war horse is as good as any guard dog for the night, and Neji knows he will sleep with a peaceful mind. He settles into his tent, one hand absently rising to touch the necklace resting securely over his heart. 

Tenten had given it to him at a festival the first year he lived in Konoha again, with a picture of Gai lovingly placed inside. He has since removed Gai’s portrait and put in one of her- but she has no need to know that.

He unclasps the pendant to examine the portrait, and decides to himself that once he gets back to Konoha, he will ask her to marry him.

The thought makes him smile, and sleep comes easily.

* * *

He sets out early the next morning, much to Byakugan’s disgruntlement, but once they reach the end of the forest and the landscape turns to rolling hills of the steppe he allows the stallion to gallop and it soothes his impatience.

They stop by a stream and Neji makes sure Byakugan drinks, eats, and rests, while Neji sits on a nearby hilltop and stares up at the sky.

He feels small. Just a small speck on a great spanse of earth.

He hears loud splashing, and turns to see Byakugan wading in the water, all of his fine leather tack still on. Neji hastily rushes to his horse and gets very wet in their subsequent battle to get him back on shore.

He takes off his shirt and hangs it over Byakugan’s withers to dry as they ride on. At least the horse is feeling as cocky as ever in the endless fields of waving grass.

The mountain range is in sight by the time they stop for the evening, dusty blue in the distance. Neji estimates aloud to Byakugan as he removes his tack that they will be there by nightfall the next day at the very latest, and Byakugan responds by rolling around in the grass gleefully. 

Neji grins and kneels to set up a small campfire, using the brush he’d picked and dried earlier in the day as kindling before using one of the few logs he’d picked up from the forest as fuel. They are resting in a divot between hills, so there is little chance of the wind disturbing the flames.

He thinks of Tenten once again as he stares into the fire- she always listened so intently to his short-worded descriptions of his travels, curled up with her knees up to her chin and her dark eyes wide and fascinated.

They would travel together, once they were married, to see all the sights that he’d told her about that she’d never even dreamt of in their tiny town.

Tenten would need a horse, though. Perhaps he could get her one as an engagement gift.

He falls asleep that night to the sound of the wind, the cry of the insects, and thoughts of teaching Tenten to ride in the meadows.

* * *

They are halfway through their ride the next day- still well within the steppe but the mountains looming close- when Neji first sees the dark clouds roiling on the horizon. 

It is not a good sign, but they have been moving at a slower pace today and Neji is adamant that they can press on and find shelter near the mountains. He urges Byakugan on ever faster, and turns to check the clouds frequently. 

He is unsettled to watch as lightning rumbles in the dark masses, the cloud shapes rolling and tumbling over one another as they draw nearer. It looks to be a bad storm.

Rain begins to drop on them as they press on, the edges of the storm reaching them at last. It has gotten very dark despite being midday, and the wind is cold and whipping. Neji turns once more to check the storm- and a jolt runs through him when he spies the vast, humanoid figure sitting in the center of it, arms folded as it surveys him back.

His heart beats in his chest once, twice- and then he knows what he needs to do.

He slows Byakugan to a stop, and the horse shifts nervously under him as they round to face the storm. Neji squares his shoulders and raises his head to the figure, accepting its approach as an inevitability.

Thunder booms like laughter, and the wind picks up. The rain remains light on them, however, and Neji is cautiously optimistic that the ancient being will take some mercy on them.

It is only a quarter hour later that the storm is directly over them and the figure slowly unfurls itself, arms unfolding as it walks in the air down to Neji. It is composed of clouds and wind and does not touch the ground, merely waiting above it as it stares down at the mortal man in front of it. 

There is still only sprinkles of rain falling on them, despite the constant lightning and thunder in the clouds. 

The being considers Neji for several minutes, then seems to have seen him completely. The wind shifts from their backs to the north, and the figure ascends into the storm once more as it begins to retreat away from them.

Neji is almost dizzy with relief. He has been judged once more and deemed worthy enough to continue onwards unimpeded. He turns Byakugan once more to the mountains, promising the stallion a thorough rubdown that night for his bravery.

Neji finds and carefully inspects a cave for safety, then takes off all of Byakugan’s tack and begins the intricate process of brushing and rubbing him down. Byakugan enjoys the attention, his ears relaxed and eyes half-lidded. He presses his nose to Neji’s shoulder once he is finished, nuzzling him, and after he draws away Neji reaches up to rub his neck.

Acts of affection complete, Byakugan instantly decides that sleeping is now in order, and he lies down. Neji sets out his sleeping roll and mirrors him, reaching up to grip his locket. It’s a comforting weight in his hand after the stresses of the day and he runs his fingertips along the edges, feeling the latch and eventually pressing it open to view Tenten’s face in the faint light of the moon.

The portrait is beautifully intricate- he’d quietly commissioned one of the best artists in the town to do it in secret, and he had done an almost perfect job of capturing the mischief hidden in her eyes despite the innocence in the set of her mouth.

It’s a face that fooled countless people into overlooking her after twenty chickens got loose and stampeded down the street into the town square, after all of Gai-sensei’s green jumpsuits went missing, after someone placed a bucket of water in just the right position to dump on Kiba’s head on his way out of his room one day.

It is a face Neji adores, and he hopes to see it again soon.

* * *

It’s at this point that Neji’s path becomes more uncertain. Tsunade is rumored to be in the mountains but it is unconfirmed, and there are few settlements in the mountains and thus few paths. He can ride inward for now, and hope to see someone to direct him.

The mountains are a stark contrast from the steppe, and Neji savors the sight of them. He can tell Byakugan is feeling surly over leaving the vast open fields of the steppe for this rocky nonsense, but the stallion obeys Neji’s guidance to trek up the slopes. They stop to rest more often now, unaccustomed to the thinner air, and Neji realizes that he should recalculate how much time it will take him to reach the first village.

Eventually they reach a trail sign that indicates a settlement in the next six kilometers, and Neji urges Byakugan to pick up the pace. They reach a small, tightly clustered village in the next two hours, and Neji swings off Byakugan to walk through the streets. He keeps a tight hold on the warhorse’s reins- he is suspicious of all people that Neji does not introduce him to, and has a certain bloodlust that cannot be settled once invoked.

Neji speaks quietly with a woman washing her clothes in the village fountain, and she directs him to the mayor’s building. He ties Byakugan outside with stern orders to remain at ease and knocks once before entering.

The mayor is a tired-looking young woman with her hair wrapped in a headscarf, but her expression lifts in curiosity when Neji enters. They speak briefly about his travels and his purpose in a tiny village in the mountains before Neji brings up Tsunade and the woman begins shaking her head.

She tells him that he is not the first to come here looking for the healer, but if Tsunade was ever in this area she must have departed long ago. But she pulls out maps for him to consider- fine maps, that the mayor must have brought from wherever she came from, because it becomes more obvious the more she speaks that this young woman is of a higher education than this town could possibly offer. 

She makes quick copies for him with a bit of charcoal and paper, then he departs after giving her his sincere thanks.

Neji fills up his supplies at a few stores and checks Byakugan’s shoes, then they set out once more.

Nightfall approaches and he stops by a stream to bathe. The water is cold but clear, and refreshing after many days of riding. Byakugan lingers by the shore, cropping at the grass there, as Neji washes his spare clothes in the stream and hangs them to dry. 

Neji has just released his hair from its tie to wash it when the water glows a soft blue and shifts. The ancient one who emerges from it is not humanoid as the others had been, but a giant river otter, twice the size of Byakugan and made solely of water.

The otter is playful and quick moving, darting around Neji and Byakugan to sniff at them both and wiggle around. It darts forward and back, splashing them both with glee. Neji, somehow, can only think of Tenten in this moment. 

Byakugan is none too pleased to be sprayed and stamps his feet, wickering loudly. The otter chirps back, unbothered, and sniffs Neji’s hair with great interest before surging forward into the water and disappearing from sight. 

The water calms and resumes its flow once more, and Neji is left staring into the spot where the being disappeared. It is the shortest encounter yet, but also the most light-hearted.

Byakugan snorts and shakes his mane, annoyed, and Neji playfully splashes water at him as he emerges from the stream. Affronted, the stallion turns his back to Neji and ignores him for the next several minutes as Neji dresses and prepares his tent. Neji pulls out some high-quality feed he has been saving and Byakugan instantly likes him again.

It is cooler now, in the mountains, so Neji pulls out the warm overshirt that Tenten had laboriously made for him, spending hours hunched over the loom and her sewing. She claims it was a project to get her grandmother off her back over her unladylike attributes and that it meant nothing to her to make it for him- but she also insists that she is the only one who is able to properly wash it, and he must bring it when it is dirty for her to wash it with her own laundry.

He has had some fun with this particular instruction. Tenten mutters at him when he brings her the shirt immediately after the day she does laundry, telling him he has terrible timing, so for her convenience he occasionally stops directly at Tenten’s home after a day spent wearing the shirt and strips it off to hand to her.

She is always flustered, every time. He is careful to remove the shirt slowly, so as to prevent any rips in the seams, and Tenten turns steadily redder as her eyes track the hem of his shirt as it rises. She is shameless in her appraisal of his physique, despite her embarrassment.

Her grandmother had seen them once, and she came running out of the house to yell at them both. Tenten she had called indecent and disgraceful, and she’d threatened Neji that unless he had intentions of making an honest woman of her dear innocent granddaughter then he’d best be getting  _ away _ .

Tenten had scowled, but Neji only laughed and kissed her cheek as he pressed the shirt into her hand, bidding her farewell and mounting Byakugan before riding back towards his own home. He could hear the old woman speaking rapidly of the prestige of the Hyuga clan, and if Tenten had the young Hyuga interested then she’d better work hard to keep him-

But it is the other way around. Neji wants to earn Tenten’s love and affection, day after day, because loving her comes easily to him. All she needs to do is smile at him, crinkle her nose in thought, wipe the soot off her arms and face after a day spent in the forge. 

Yes. Loving her is easy, by far the easiest thing in his life, and the most joyful.

* * *

They take two days to travel up to the peak of the mountain that Neji thinks is the most likely location for Tsunade to be- or if not her, then another healer. 

It is rough terrain, and at a certain point Neji realizes with a pang that Byakugan will not be able to summit the last half-day of travel, and must leave his horse with a hermit until he can return.

He hopes that he finds a healer soon, and not too far away.

He spends the night just outside one of the highest-altitude villages, then soldiers on. By midday he has worked up a sweat despite the chill of the air, and stops to change into a lighter weighted shirt.

There is a muffled noise to his side as he packs his things back away, and he is instantly on edge. He calls out to see if it a person, and is shocked as a pink-haired-  _ creature _ \- emerges from the forest, green eyes wide as they stare at him.

She considers him for several long moments, pointed ears twitching in the breeze, then speaks softly, almost below his hearing. 

She tells him she knew he was coming, because the Lady of the Forest sent a message in the breeze. Before he can respond, she turns, indicating he should follow, and begins slipping away between the trees. He is hesitant to follow, but he has few choices now.

The creature leads him into an area where the trees grow closely together, downhill from where he as been trekking, and to a small hut almost hidden away by the slope of a huge boulder.

She darts away, leaving him on the path up to the front door. Neji closes his eyes and summons his will, then approaches and knocks.

Tsunade Senju opens the door.

* * *

She cannot help him, she tells him.

She is old and weary, and has not been a practicing healer for many years. Neji knows that her deflection of age is just a ruse, but he can see in her eyes the aches that have not faded, and believes her words of weariness.

Her hair is no longer the honey-blonde of the stories but is streaked with gray, and there are lines around her eyes and mouth that speak of the weight she has carried. There is a movement to her that reminds Neji of the mountains themselves.

He realizes, watching her, that Tsunade is on a path to being an ancient being herself.

The realization is stark, and he almost fumbles with his teacup. It is rare now, almost unheard of, for ancient beings to form, but if one person can bear the title it is the legendary Tsunade. He only hopes she can finally find her happiness here.

He is about to thank her for her time and ask if she knows where he can find another healer when the pink creature darts into the room, standing near the doorway and staring at him again. 

Tsunade smiles when she sees her, with a type of self-satisfaction that adds a spark to her eyes and a light to her soul.  _ She  _ cannot help him, she tells him, but her niece can.

Shizune has spent just as long in the mountains as Tsunade and is ready to leave. She enters the room shortly after the creature, her bag already packed and dressed in clothes for travel. She and Tsunade both weep as they hug one another goodbye, and her embrace with the pink creature- whom she calls Sakura, and the name makes Neji realize she is a wood nymph- is just as tender.

She and Neji set out, and he silently offers her a handkerchief as they approach the path he came from. She takes it with a wobbly nod of thanks.

They reach the hermit’s cottage by that night and Byakugan is thrilled to see Neji again, prancing around him and rubbing his head to Neji’s. Shizune does not falter by the warhorse as Neji half-expected her to, instead calmly following his instructions to feed Byakugan a bit of carrot and breathe into his nostrils.

Byakugan accepts their new companion easily, and that night they dine quietly with the hermit on the beef Neji has carefully carried with him since leaving his town; it is a special treat for Shizune on her first night of travel and a fine thank-you to the hermit for caring for the fickle warhorse while Neji was gone.

They set out early the next morning. Shizune is far more used to the mountainous slopes than Neji or Byakugan, and she keeps up easily with them on their way down. But she will need a horse to ride across the steppe, and Neji thinks carefully on it as they descend. 

When they reach the first village they stopped in, several days later, Neji pauses to talk to several people in low, secretive tones while Shizune gets supplies and talks to the children in the village square.

He finally finishes almost an entire hour later and meets Shizune while holding the reins of the fine riding mare he’d purchased for a generous price. He understands her previous owners’ reluctance to part with her, as she is perhaps the finest piece of horseflesh that Neji has encountered west of Konoha, but he offered the family the asking price and made no effort to barter.

Shizune asks him, as they begin riding, what he will do with the mare after they reach the town. Something about her demeanor, and his urge to get to know her more, prompts him to tell her the truth, that there is a woman back home he’d like to marry and the mare will be a fine engagement gift.

Shizune laughs, then, pleased with his answer, and wishes him the best.

* * *

Their journey across the steppe is uneventful this time, except for Byakugan’s constant flirting with the mare. Neji is a little more forceful than usual in redirecting his horse to their path- once they are back home the stupid beast can prance and buck all he wants, but as of right now he  _ should know better _ .

They are outside the forest in a day and a half of travel through the steppe, and Neji is pleasantly surprised at their fast progress. After a discussion, they travel for three hours more into the forest before stopping early for the night. Shizune seems thrilled to wander through the trees, and Neji is happy to let her as he sets up camp for the night.

Shizune asks about Tenten again as they finish dinner, and Neji surprises himself by blushing at the knowing look in her eye. He thought only Tenten could get such a reaction from him- and perhaps she has, indirectly.

He tells Shizune how he met her just a few years before he and his father left the town to travel and find a balm for his father’s restlessness, how he told Tenten- they were only ten at the time- that he’d come back having seen so much of the world that he probably would forget her entirely. She’d punched him, and he’d started his journey with a black eye and surly attitude.

And he tells Shizune about making his way back to the town after his father was killed, thinking of his cousins and uncle and aunt but also of the girl who’d punched him, and feeling amused in spite of his grief over the fact that he did indeed remember her as clearly as she told him he would.

He speaks of the festivals she’d first dragged him and then accompanied him to, of sparring opptogether early in the mornings, of Tenten’s grandmother slowly keeping her inside more and more to teach her the skills and habits of a good wife, of completing her chores with her so they could spend more time together in the day, of Tenten climbing into his window in the dead of night to talk to him, of how the look in her eyes when she regards him changed with his own as he looks at her.

He confesses at the end of his rambling that they have not said aloud their feelings for one another, so he in truth cannot know what she will say to his proposal. Shizune is tired, but smiles sleepily at him and mumbles that she is sure Tenten will say yes.

* * *

They travel through the woods at a brisk pace, not pushing the horses too hard but making sure they are traveling more than they rest. They have made good time so far, and Neji feels hopeful over his aunt's prospects. But there is no point in tempting fate, so he presses them on. 

They pass the last edge of the canyon and continue eastward. Without the canyon at their side navigation becomes more of an estimate, but Neji trusts in his skills to guide them. They once more reach the clearing where he had met the Lady in only a few hours of travel rather than two days, and now Neji is sure that she has blessed his journey. 

They are almost outside the forest, where it eases into meadows and greens hills before the dusty path towards the village, and they both stop to look back.

Neji is almost certain he sees the tall figure amongst the trees, smiling with her hand outstretched to Shizune. He does not know what the healer sees, only that it makes her weep quietly for the next few minutes as they continue on.

They reach the gates of the town at dusk. Shizune’s gaze flickers between the small settlement and the sight of Konoha looming in the distance. Neji slows their pace slightly in accomodate her nervousness- it has only just occurred to him that she spent all of her life in the mountains, and even if she traveled to the small villages scattered throughout it was nowhere like this bustling town.

Neji calls a greeting to the guards, who are glad to see him, and they send a runner to the Hyuga estate to notify them of his arrival. Their walk through the streets are undisturbed- few people are out and about, and those who are seem satisfied with waving a greeting to Neji. It is a good, calm entrance for Shizune, and Neji is glad for it.

They dismount outside the Hyuga stables, and Neji reluctantly passes Byakugan’s reins over to the chief hostler- he prefers to rub down the horse himself, most of the time, but now it is more important to get Shizune settled. The hostlers murmur admiringly over the mare as they settle her into a stall, and Neji looks forward to a conversation with them later about where he found her.

He has just walked out of the stables, Shizune just behind him, when a small person collides into him with a happy cry.

It is Hanabi, of course, and in between her chatter about how she missed him and how mother is still sick but thankfully not getting any worse, she peers around him at Shizune in quick, wide-eyed bursts.

After she has talked herself out- because that is how one handles Hanabi- Neji introduces Shizune to her as Tsunade’s niece and apprentice, and Hanabi is so shocked she actually falls silent as Neji escorts Shizune to a guest room and settles her in, then offers to send a servant to her room with dinner.

Shizune accepts gladly, smiling at Hanabi where she is still clinging to her cousin’s arm, and they wish one another good night. 

The second Shizune’s door is closed, Hanabi bursts into chatter again, asking about Shizune and the new horse he had brought with him. He answers as best he can about Shizune, for in truth he does not know much of her past, and tells Hanabi that he bought the horse so the healer would have a steed for their path home.

He hesitates, then confesses to Hanabi that he hopes Tenten will accept the mare as an engagement present.

Hanabi does not bother to stifle her screeches of delight.

* * *

Shizune is up early the next morning to meet her patient, so early that Neji first looks for her in her rooms and is then forced to enquire with the head of staff about where she went. 

He chooses not to disturb his aunt during the process, and instead goes to visit Byakugan and the mare in the stables. Hinata joins him, and they have a long discussion about horses with the head hostler before Hinata’s maid comes to fetch her for her studies.

Hinata seems almost excited over her lessons nowadays, and Neji is glad that Hiashi finally accepted that she had no desire to be the next clan head and let her study medicine. She has told Neji privately that she would like to become a pathologist- but Neji thinks it is best not to tell Hiashi of that particular development yet.

Shizune and his aunt are still working by the time lunch rolls around, and Neji, dizzy with impatience, decides to go for a ride. He tells his uncle- when he briefly emerges from the rooms he shares with his wife, watching over her as Shizune diagnoses her- that he will be gone for the rest of the afternoon. Hiashi accepts easily, thanking Neji for bringing Shizune- and then unexpectedly gives him the same ring that Hizashi had once given Neji’s mother.

Clearly Hanabi has been talking. Two spots of color appear on Neji’s cheeks, and Hiashi only grins.

* * *

Neji rides for several long hours, getting out Byakugan’s jitters and working him hard. The horse is bright-eyed and perky eared as they slow in the field behind Tenten’s home, but the same cannot be said of Neji, who is decidedly nervous. He fingers the ring in his pocket as he dismounts, taking measured breaths. He leads Byakugan to the water trough and is about to start on the path up to the door when it flies open and Tenten is running towards him. 

She collides into his arms with a painful smack, holding him tight, and then immediately begins yelling at him for leaving with hardly any goodbye even as she runs her fingers over him to make sure he isn’t injured.

He cannot help it- she makes him laugh, she always does. He pulls back just the slightest amount from their embrace and reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear as he tells her that he’s fine, that he brought back Tsunade’s apprentice and his hopeful of his aunt’s health, that he missed Tenten very much and is glad to see her.

She is grudgingly satisfied with his answer, and they slowly pull away from one another. Tenten offers him tea, and they walk arm in arm up the path, Byakugan following behind them at Neji’s whistle. He ties the horse to the fencing on the porch- and Tenten pauses to stroke Byakugan’s nose and kiss him, which Neji finds undignified but the horse enjoys- and then she settles him into the sitting room and carefully prepares them tea.

He hides a smile at how intentionally she must perform these acts of femininity, so unlike the smoothly graceful motions of his aunt and cousins when hosting. 

She’s utterly perfect.

Tea poured, Tenten sits down close next to him- her grandmother would throw a fit- and eagerly asks him about his travels. Neji speaks to her for hours about this trek across the land, about the ancient beings he encountered and how they gazed upon him.

Tenten slowly presses against his side as he talks, and before the end of his tale she is tucked against his chest, listening to his voice rumble up to her ear. He has undone her tight braid and is running his hand slowly through her hair, and if it weren’t for the soft noises she makes when he speaks of something awe-inspiring he would think she has fallen asleep.

It is well into evening by the time he finishes, and Tenten makes them soup for dinner. She goes upstairs with a bowl for her grandmother, who has been busy at the loom all day, then comes downstairs to dine with Neji. They eat quietly by the light of the lamps, speaking softly of nothing in particular, and then- as he rises to help Tenten wash up- he knows that this is what he wants, to have this quiet, domestic scene with her for the rest of their lives.

Tenten turns to take the last dish from him to dry and put away and their fingers brush together. She gives him a smile.

He thinks of the mare, waiting in the Hyuga stables, of the way Tenten hums when she works in the forge, of how she blusters to cover up her embarrassment of his slow romancing of her, of how she likes to tease him for his stiff demeanor and how her laughs whip away in the breeze.

It is easy, so easy, after all, to smile at her and take her (wet, soapy) hands in his, to kneel slowly as her eyes turn wide and incredulous. She asks him in a high-pitched voice what he’s doing.

Neji’s returning smile is strong and sure. “Tenten, will you marry me?”


	5. Day Five: Scars/Tattoos

Neji’s mouth was a flat, disapproving line as he held her hand firmly, and she tilted her head over to grin at him. “How’s going over on your end, babe?”

His frown deepened at the endearment, which he’d told her he found degrading. He grunted. Tenten laughed a little and turned her head back up to look at the ceiling, closing her eyes and wincing a little as the needle scraped over the bones on her wrist.

Neji noticed, of course. “I told you that you shouldn’t do this.”

“Too late,” she chirped back. She ran her fingers over his knuckles, and his expression softened slightly (even though she knew he didn’t mean to do it, he just had an involuntary response because he liked her  _ that much _ .) 

“Done.” Her tattoo artist sat back, looking as expressionless as he had when he first started. She couldn’t get a read on the guy, but maybe that was okay.

Neji stood behind her as she paid and got her aftercare kit, then they left for his car, still holding hands even though Neji was grumpy. Tenten had looked at the tattoo right after the artist had finished, but Neji hadn’t and now it was covered by bandages and he would have to wait. He had no idea what it was, and Tenten was admittedly a little nervous about what he would think of it.

Their lives continued for the next few days while it healed. Tenten was in the finishing stages of moving her stuff to Neji’s apartment, so she was going back and forth a few times a day with her odds and ends. They both went to work and came back. Neji had to work late one night, so it was just her and the cat hanging out and watching Netflix. Neji got home with takeout, so they ate in front of the TV and then had wine on the balcony. (And then had sex on the balcony- because it was  _ private _ , thank you very much.)

Tenten changed her tattoo bandages after her shower, so Neji still didn’t see it until the day she took the bandages off completely. And she was in a bit of a rush that morning to get out the door (she ran late admiring her pretty tattoo- so what?) so she’d just had time to kiss him and the cat goodbye before ducking out the door.

(They  _ still  _ hadn’t named the cat, because they hadn’t really meant to adopt him. They were lucky the apartment building allowed pets.)

Tenten went through her work day as normal, occasionally getting compliments on her tattoo, and then went grocery shopping on her way home.

Neji was home already, cat in his lap as he sat over their coffee table going over paperwork. Tenten quietly watched him stroke the purring cat for a few moments before making some noise as she took off her shoes and hollered, “I’m home!”

They swiveled with hilarious synchrony to look at her, then Neji carefully nudged the cat off his lap so he could rise and kiss her. She hummed happily then passed him a bag of groceries, and they headed into the kitchen to put everything away. 

Tenten was reaching up to put the tea away in the cupboard when Neji suddenly stopped her and yanked her hand around to examine her wrist.

_ Aha _ . He’d spotted her tattoo.

It wasn’t terribly complicated, just his, Lee’s, and Gai’s initials, but the way he stared at it made it seem like it was some alien script.

After a few long moments of him staring blankly and not saying anything, Tenten cleared her throat. “Honey?”

He blinked a few times, then gently lowered her wrist. “It’s… nice.” He meant it, too, and she beamed.

* * *

Neji was just as disapproving of the next tattoo, even though he appreciated her first one.

He held her hand again in the chair, all the while telling her that she should stop, even when the tattoo was almost complete and it would be weirder to walk away. Tenten just smiled at him the whole time.

Neji could bluster all he wanted, there was no way she  _ wasn’t  _ getting this tattoo done. She was newly engaged, after all. She needed something to commemorate it.

Not that Neji knew that was why she was getting a tattoo, but he could just see it later and get all flustered.

Neji was grumbling to himself over the permanence of tattoos as he went through his work email on his phone, absently lacing their fingers together on his free hand. Tenten stifled a snort.

_ Haha, loser, you like your fiance. _

The tattoo took a little longer this time- and the artist was just as reticent as before- but before long it was all finished and they were back home going through their list of potential cat names.

Because her new tattoo was on her shoulder blade and therefore almost always covered, Neji didn’t see it until she wasn’t wearing a shirt. And it wasn’t even during sex, surprisingly, it was when they were coming home from a jog and she stripped off her lightweight tee with complaints of the sweat.

She went into the kitchen to get them both some water while Neji put their shoes away, and when she turned around to toss his to him he almost fumbled the catch and was three centimeters short of getting decked in the face.

She blinked at him, startled. Neji didn’t even bother to acknowledge his error, instead marching towards her and spinning her around to examine her back. Her brow furrowed. “Uh, Neji?”

“Your new tattoo.”

“Oh.” His hand drifted slowly over her skin, over the small silhouette of a bird in flight, and his fingers were almost reverent.

It was a tattoo that meant a lot to both of them but especially to Neji, and Tenten was proud to bear it on her skin.

Neji bent his head and pressed a slow kiss to the mark, clearly feeling too emotional to speak. Tenten bit her lip as her own emotions swelled.

Neji stepped back, and she waited for him to say something about how he couldn’t believe she got a tattoo  _ for him _ .

“Your skin is really sweaty. Gross.” He wiped his mouth.

Ah. “You’re so romantic.”

“Yes. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

Tenten had officially landed her dream job, and much to Neji’s disgruntlement that meant getting a tattoo.

“I don’t know why you keep doing this,” he complained after she came home from her consultation. She rolled her eyes in return. She was feeling a little crabby and snappish that day, and his attitude wasn’t helping.

“Because I want to ruin my skin with horrible permanent marks,” she snarled, slamming the door to the coat closet. Neji wisely kept silent. She shot him one last mean look then scooped up The Cat to go anger-cuddle in bed.

Neji gave her some alone time for the next hour, then abruptly came into the room to hand her a bouquet of carnations and a hot pad for her cramps. She had no idea when he’d learned her menstrual cycle, but she appreciated it.

She gave him an half-apologetic look and he kissed her cheek, then retreated again. The Cat (they  _ really  _ needed a name) got up and pulled the door open with his paw, sat for a bit looking down the hallway, then followed after Neji. Tenten yawned and settled the hot pad over her lower stomach before pulling her book off the nightstand to keep reading. 

She emerged twenty minutes later to put the carnations in a vase and help Neji with dinner, feeling much better. He absently touched her lower back as she settled next to him with the cutting board and the leeks, and she leaned up to kiss his jaw.

The actual tattooing came later. Neji couldn’t make it, so instead Ino went with Tenten. It was a very different experience- mostly because Ino subtly flirted with the tattoo artist most of the time they were there, and incredibly enough he actually talked back. 

The two of them were still deep in conversation even after Tenten had wrapped up paying, but she was happy to just dawdle on her phone while Ino slyly got the man’s phone number- she hadn’t been focused on dating while she was getting her master’s degree, and it was nice to see her so bright and engaging again. She even had the artist blushing at one point, and he was so pale that Tenten was shocked to see the evidence of blood in his veins. She’d really just assumed he was a tattooing robot.

They departed fifteen minutes later with Ino humming happily as she looked at her new contact- “Sai 🖌” and Tenten grinning to herself as she settled gingerly into the passenger seat of Ino’s car (the tattoo was down her spine and it had been  _ extremely painful  _ to get it done but it looked  _ dope as hell _ ).

Ino came up to the apartment for a bit for some snacks and conversation, plus some premium cat snuggles, and headed out soon after with a cheerful wave and promises to get lunch soon.

Neji didn’t get home until Tenten had already gone to bed, sleeping on her stomach after discovering that every other way was pretty uncomfortable. He smelled a little like alcohol when he stopped to kiss her head.

“How was Choji’s bachelor party?” She murmured drowsily.

“Good. Less rowdy than I expected, frankly.” He crossed to the dresser and started changing into his sleeping clothes, and Tenten closed her eyes again. 

She dozed off while he was washing up in the bathroom, but woke up again when he settled into bed next to her and kissed her head again. She reached out her arm to settle over his waist. “Glad you had fun,” she whispered. 

He laced their fingers together with a wordless murmur, already dozing off. Mr. Cat jumped up onto the edge of the mattress and settled in, tucking his paws underneath himself so he was cat-loaf shaped. 

_ Nice _ , Tenten thought, and then she was asleep.

She woke up the next morning to Mr. Cat sitting on her butt, which Neji found quite humorous, but she elected to ignore them both and fell back asleep. Neji got up and made himself some toast, then very carefully returned to the bedroom and ate it without getting a single crumb on the bed, which was an incredible talent and the real reason Tenten was marrying him. 

(He also shared some butter with Mr. Cat, but would deny it if she asked.)

Tenten woke some twenty-odd minutes later and was ready to get up. She stifled a grunt of pain when she moved her back for the first time and the skin felt like it’d been poked with a needle a bunch of times (for whatever reason), but it was easy to ignore after that. 

She bullied Neji into going to make her toast but was  _ not  _ successful in keeping the crumbs off the bed and was reprimanded.

Eventually they had to get up and go do things, which was a bummer. Luckily enough for Tenten the weather was warm enough that she could wear a loose-fitting shirt with no bra and avoid having to bandage her tattoo, and luckily enough for Neji the weather was warm and his fiance walked around with no bra.

(He never said anything, but his eyes lingered.)

They had been going over wedding plans for almost two hours and decided they needed a break. Tenten stood up to stretch, and Neji actually asked, “Can I see the tattoo?”

Obligingly she turned and pulled up the shirt so he could see the minimalist letters going down her back- “PERSIST”.

He ran his hand down her skin right next to the letters, not saying anything. She swivelled her head to look back at him but he didn’t meet her questioning eyes, just stared for several moments longer before saying in a rough voice, “It’s surprisingly sexy.”   
  


“Ex- _ cuse  _ you, surprisingly?”

“Yes.” He faced her indignance head on and said, “You know how I feel about tattoos.”

“You just weren’t looking at them on the right person,” she purred. She took the shirt off the rest of the way and turned to face him.

Hilariously enough, she was stomach-down for a lot of the sex that afternoon slash evening- Neji flipped her back over so many times when she tried turning to face him that she just settled down like that.

“Settled” being the operative word- the things they did together were pretty, ahem, active. 

Tenten made her way out of the bedroom in the late afternoon and walked completely nude into the kitchen, fed Mr. Cat, then hurried away again. Neji welcomed her back with open arms and a keen glint in his eye.

They went out for drinks the next week with their friends to celebrate Tenten’s new job and wound up making their way to a club for some after-drink drinks, which was a great idea that also happened to be horrible for their livers.

Tenten was dancing with Ino and Sakura when she noticed Neji approaching them. He snagged her with a hand on her waist- which made her smile, because Neji wasn’t suave by any means but he was so deliberate in all his actions that sometimes the lines blurred- and pulled her a little ways away so they could dance together.

Tenten beamed up at him. She knew he didn’t really like dancing, or club music, or clubs, but he wouldn’t have come if he didn’t want to and she was glad to have him here.

She leaned up and pressed a sweet kiss to his mouth, then looped her arms around his neck so they could sway together. He put his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, expression as grave as ever, but his grip around her waist was tender. She lightly rubbed her nose against his, humming happily. She was tipsy but not drunk, and that usually had her feeling pretty cuddly.

He pulled her close to him as they turned- it really wasn’t an appropriate dance move for the fast-paced club music, but it was the most Neji would usually do in this setting- and Tenten let out a happy sigh and rested her head against his shoulder.

He let her go back to Sakura and Ino a few songs later, after pressing a parting kiss to her mouth and giving her a sweet smile. Tenten returned to her friends with a happy glow about her, and they immediately proceeded to tease her mercilessly for the rest of the night.

Much later, she and Neji walked arm-in-arm down to where they’d parked the car, waving goodbye as their friends parted ways. Ino and Sakura, who had of course driven together, were hitching along with Shikamaru and Choji on their way home, as both women had cheerfully decided neither of them wanted to be a designated driver and had indulged themselves.

Fortunately for the soon-to-be Hyuga-Huangs, Neji never cared for getting drunk and was perfectly safe to drive. Which meant that Tenten could have a really fun time getting handsy in the passenger seat while he did his best to focus on the road, then end up getting sleepy and not want to do anything other than go to bed once they got home.

Neji obligingly tucked her in and kissed her goodnight, which was nice of him. Then he quietly sat out in the living room drinking tea and petting the cat as he continued wedding planning.

* * *

“When will you stop getting tattoos?” Neji demanded.

Tenten yawned. “Dunno. This is only the fourth, you know.” Sai ignored them both as he continued working- which was hilarious, given that he’d become something of a regular in their group of friends now that he and Ino were going steady.

He’d talk when he wanted to, Tenten knew. He was just blunt.

Neji continued to scowl down at her. “Ridiculous.”

She grinned cheekily up at him and shot back, “You gripe a lot for someone who likes to spin me over and stare at my back tattoos during sex.”

Neji flushed crimson, and even Sai let out a little noise and slowed his movements with the needle. Tenten smirked, unabashed.

They were finished twenty minutes later and driving home, Neji still a little pink and refusing to speak. Tenten just smiled held his hand with hers as they drove, running her fingers over his palm.

The magnolia branch going down her thigh wasn’t exactly meaningful like her other tattoos had been, but it was pretty and it was sexy, so Tenten liked it just as much as her others. And for all his blustering, Neji  _ definitely  _ liked all of her tattoos, so maybe she’d be able to get him to shut up on the next one.

* * *

It was not the case. “Tenten-”

“Huuuuuushhhhh,” she told him, eyes closed. “I’m celebrating, I’m getting married next week.”

“So am I,” he snapped back. “You don’t see me getting a tattoo.”

She opened her eyes hopefully. “You  _ could _ -”

“No.” She pouted.

“We could be matching, it’d be cute!”

“No.”

“Hmph.” She exaggerated her pout a little more and was pleased to see him eyeing her mouth. 

This time the tattoo was on her right hand- a tiny black heart, tucked into the knuckle closest to her hand on her ring finger by her pinky. 

It hurt like the  _ dickens  _ to get it done, and the pain was almost making Tenten’s eyes water- and then it really was, and tears were dripping down her temples.

Neji did not take it well. “ _ Tenten.  _ What’s going on. Are you hurt? Should he stop? Tenten-”

She cracked open one eye and grunted up at him, “Just digging into the bone. I’m good, Sai, keep going.”

Sai, who had not stopped, muttered absently, “Okay.”

Neji glared at her as he tenderly wiped her tears away. “If you’re fine, then stop crying.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Well, I don’t like it so you must cease.”

She smiled softly up at him, her heart melting at his verbose wording. “I’ll try, babe.”

“Done,” Sai said shortly. He pulled back and started started putting his things away. “Your magnolia branch is still the best one.”

Tenten grinned at him- he’d definitely enjoyed the magnolia blossoms the most, seemingly because he liked the artistry that went into it. All of her other tattoos were pretty minimalist, after all. “Yeah, that’s aesthetically my favorite, but the other ones mean a lot to me.”

“Whatever,” Sai said offhandedly. “Let’s go ring you up.”

Tenten bit back a laugh and got out of the chair, lifting her arms above her head to stretch. Neji stood too and grabbed her hand to inspect the tattoo, then placed his palm on the small of her back as they walked over to the front desk.

Tenten paid and got her aftercare kit. “Thanks, Sai. See you later!”

“At your wedding,” he said. “I’m Ino’s plus one.”

Tenten grinned at him, pleased he was volunteering the information and also that he looked so happy to say it. “That’s great! Can’t wait to see you there, then.”

“Hopefully you can’t wait for a few other reasons,” Neji grumbled.

“Right, right- wedding gifts, of course…” They waved to Sai as they walked out the door, and once they were out of sight by the car Neji suddenly pinned her to the door.

“ _ Wedding gifts _ , Tenten, really?”

She laughed. “I thought it was funny!”

“You’re a menace.” He kissed her slowly, then stepped back and opened the car door for her. She smiled and patted his butt before grandly taking a seat. 

Neji sat down in the driver’s seat and started the car. “No more tattoos now.”

“Hm. We’ll see.”

He didn’t even protest this time, just shaking his head with a small smile as he started the drive home.


	6. Day Six: Broken

Stupid. Stupid, stupid,  _ stupid _ .

Tenten choked down another groan as her latest attempt to move her ankle sent pain shooting up her leg. It was definitely sprained at the very least, though hopefully not broken.

Her glasses had fallen off, and she spotted them a few feet away. With much effort, she managed to reach them without moving her leg too much- although every time she did she sucked in a sharp breath as the pain throbbed. She shoved her glasses on and squinted at her ankle.

It was her own fault, in a way- she hadn't wanted to do the activity that she and her classmates had been directed to do and instead climbed a tree to escape the watchful eye of their instructors. But then she'd gotten distracted gazing up at the clouds and the way the leaves trembled in the breeze and lost track of time, and in her scramble to get down again she'd fallen.

She knew that her instructors would be a little annoyed rather than worried that she wasn't back at school with the other girls. She did tend to pull this sort of stunt a lot, and they'd learned to let her come back in her own time instead of tracking her down.

They would be concerned when it got dark, though- that would mean she had been missing for over five hours, when she never let herself miss more than three and was always back for the early evening lessons.

Tenten cast an appraising gaze over the sky and worried at her lip. She'd be missing supper soon, so hopefully the school would send some people out.

She couldn't come to them, after all, not with her ankle like this.

It was starting to get colder, an early autumn chill settling in. Tenten shivered and chafed at her arms as the wind bit right through her school uniform.

Well, damn it. Looked like she would have to start calling for help from the passerby in the park.

"Can anyone hear me?" She called into the wind. There was no reply.

The street lamp above her flickered on, and she flinched. With one hand, she reached to prod at her sprain and immediately yanked back her fingers as white spots crowded her vision.

“Ouch,” she whispered. She was alone.

She called on and off for the next five minutes, pausing every once in a while to listen intently for anyone approaching. Eventually she became so cold that she decided to just stand on one foot and hobble her way back to the street, where someone would be sure to help.

She was using the tree to haul herself up when someone asked, “Are you all right?”

She startled and almost fell over, but a hand on her shoulder steadied her. She spun towards the person, one arm half-raised to hit them if needed.

The man who stared back at her was dressed  _ very  _ sharply, in dark gray businessman’s attire and a long coat. He had a hat tucked under his arm and a cigarette resting idly between his fingers, but what caught Tenten’s attention most was his pale eyes. They were almost a gleaming silver, the color was so light.

The man retracted his hand from her shoulder once she had steadied herself again and made no other attempt to touch her. “Are you all right?” he repeated.

Tenten hesitated a few moments before acquiescing, “No. I’ve sprained my ankle.”

He frowned. “I see. What are you doing out so late?”

“I  _ wasn’t  _ out late. I just lost track of time, and then I hurt myself and couldn’t walk.”

His brow pinched at her rudeness, but he only asked, “Where do you need to go? I can escort you there.”

She eyed him carefully. “Konoha Girls Preparatory Academy.”

“That’s quite a distance.”

“If it’s such a bother then just leave me here,” she snipped. “I’m sure plenty of people with good intentions are out at this time of night to escort young women home.”

His gaze turned reproachful. “Mind your tone. I am doing you a favor.”

“Are you? Or are you just going to complain about the hassle of helping someone out?”

He reached up and pinched his brow for half a moment before jerking his hand away and muttering, “All right-” and then shoved his hat on his head and put out the cigarette before putting the stub in his pocket.

Tenten scowled at him, about to ask what he was doing, when her vision suddenly blurred as he picked her up and started walking.

She was so shocked by his gall for a few moments that she was actually quiet, but her rage at his actions bubbled through soon enough. “How  _ dare  _ you-”

“It’s not as though you could walk,” he snapped back. His tone eased slightly as he said, “And somehow I don’t think you’d have allowed this if I asked.”

“Hmph.” He was right, of course.

They walked in silence down a few roads. The man seemed unburdened by her weight.

Eventually Tenten couldn’t stand the quiet and blurted, “What’s your name?”

He actually frowned at her, as if she had done something wrong for wanting to know the name of the person helping her. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t- I asked, didn’t I? I’d like to know.”

“I’ll not say,” he said gruffly. Tenten scowled at his refusal, then turned her head away from him with a huff. Nose in the air, she said pointedly, “Well,  _ my  _ name is Tenten.”

“A pleasure,” he said, charm and insincerity oozing from every syllable. Tenten glared at the buildings they were passing.

They reached Konoha Girls Prep after fifteen minutes of walking and were accepted into the main office with much fluttering and fussing from the instructors within. Tenten was immediately handed off to the head nurse and they limped their way off to the medical wing in a hurry.

Tenten barely had enough time to look over her shoulder at the man, much less thank him. He was surrounded by a horde of people, all thanking him profusely and reaching to shake his hand.

He looked very uncomfortable. Tenten smirked.

He glanced up and his eyes met hers just before she rounded the corner, and Tenten sent him one last dagger-like grin before she was whisked out of sight.

_ Later, jerk _ .

* * *

Tenten was shocked the next day when she was called to the headmistress’s office- she’d gotten rebuked from her instructors for ditching, but they understood that the fact she’d stayed out so late was due to her ankle and only had detention for the rest of the week. She didn’t think that her actions would warrant a talk from Headmistress Senju- but apparently she’d sneaked out one too many times.

Her stomach was churning as she approached the office door on her crutches and knocked. Her grandmother couldn’t afford to enroll her in another school if she was expelled.

“Come in.” Tsunade’s voice was as curt as ever.

Tenten opened the door cautiously. “Headmistress, you wanted to-” She stopped short. The pale-eyed man was sitting in the chair across from Tsunade’s desk as though it was a throne. He gave Tenten a slow, lazy smirk.

Tenten looked to Tsunade for an explanation, but she only nodded towards the man again. Clearly, she meant that Tenten would have to do things herself.

She sat down in the other open chair- because her ankle  _ hurt _ , because it turned out it  _ was  _ actually broken- and said shortly, “Hello again, I suppose.”

Tsunade scowled.

The man was not put off by her tone. “Good afternoon. I wanted to follow up with you after Tuesday night.”

“Why.” Tenten asked bluntly. Tsunade cringed.

“Because it’s very rare to escort a young woman home with a sprained- no, broken, ankle, at nearly ten o’clock in the evening. Especially when that young woman apparently got the broken ankle falling out of the tree she climbed in order to avoid doing her studies with her classmates.”

“And it’s weird and creepy of you to go and find that out,” Tenten told him. Infuriatingly, she couldn’t seem to piss him off like before, and he only gave her that smirk again.

“ _ Tenten _ ,” Tsunade interrupted, “This is Neji Hyuga. You may remember his cousin, Hinata, who attended last year.”

_ Oh _ . That was why Tsunade looked so tense. Hyuga was a big name, after all. And as to the question of Hinata- “Yes. She was a doll.”

She gave Hyuga a look out of the corner of her eye as she said it, so he would understand the nonverbal “Unlike  _ you _ .”

Tsunade scowled at her, then looked to Hyuga and said, “If you’d like to speak with her more, Mr. Hyuga, I’ll have to ask that you go to the courtyard, as I have a few meetings.”

“Of course.” He stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “Miss? Shall we?”

Tenten stared disbelievingly at both of them. “ _ What _ ?”

He smirked- god, she hated that smirk!- and said, “A walk around the courtyard, miss. Slowly, on account of your ankle.”

“I- I have classes-”

“You’re excused,” Tsunade said shortly. Clearly she didn’t want Tenten risking the Hyuga family insult, so Tenten had no choice but to grimace and accept Hyuga’s arm.

She could not put any pressure on her leg and thus was highly dependent on him to escort her to the courtyard, which only increased her ire. He settled her down on the first bench they encountered and then took a seat next to her after carefully undoing his suit button again.

Tenten stared at him dully, and he smiled. “How is your ankle feeling, Miss Tenten?”

“It hurts,” she muttered. His smile broadened. “That’s quite unfortunate, though Headmistress Senju assured me that all the doctors said it would heal easily. If you don’t mind me asking, miss- although I am nearly certain that you do- why were you avoiding your lessons?”

“I  _ do _ mind,” she told him. “I hardly know why you asked.”

“Because I find you interesting and wish to understand you more,” he said simply. She glared back and retorted, “That’s too bad, because I shan’t be telling you anything.” She grabbed her crutches and stood, pivoting back to the path and staring a moment before ordering over her shoulder, “Help me back to my classes.”

“Certainly.” He stood up- redid his button- and smoothly crossed to her side, taking her hand and tucking it into his arm. She hated him.

* * *

And her ire only grew, because Neji Hyuga  _ continued  _ to visit her under the pretense of checking up on her for the next  _ two months _ . 

It got to the point that Tsunade politely ordered him to only visit in the evenings after the lessons were over for the day, because his visits disrupted Tenten’s classes so frequently. 

Tenten tromped down the stairs one rainy afternoon- it hadn’t snowed yet, but it would any day now- to meet Hyuga where he was waiting for her at the front entrance, umbrella in hand as he spoke politely with the doorman, Tenzo.

Tenten was annoyed to see they were getting along- she considered Tenzo a pretty good judge of character, but Hyuga’s big family name must have dazzled him a little.

Just the name, was all, and not Hyuga himself, because he wasn’t kind or witty and he’d never made her laugh despite herself.

He looked up at her and smiled, seemingly genuine  _ but Tenten knew better _ and said, satisfaction in his voice, “Your ankle seems much better.”

“It is,” she told him. She cast a wary eye at the rain outside- he normally escorted her to the courtyard, where they’d sit and he’d try to pry conversation out of her. But today-

“I am  _ not  _ going out in  _ that _ ,” she told him.

“No, no. I wouldn’t want you to,” he said. “I hardly want to walk two paces in it myself.”

She descended the steps cautiously as he continued, “I took a cab to work today and even that was miserable. No, thank you- I’ve asked your housekeeper to set up tea for us in the visiting room. Would you join me?” He smiled at her and offered his arm.

She grabbed it and marched to the sitting room- the company was lacking, but she loved the cook’s delicate pastries and would always seize the opportunity to have some.

Tenten gritted her teeth through the process of pouring him the tea and offering the pastries, then gleefully settled into consuming her own portion- though her etiquette lessons rang clearly in her ears as she took small, ladylike bites.

They ate in silence for several minutes before Tenten set her teacup down with a barely-there clatter and demanded, “Why do you keep visiting me?”

He looked up from where he’d been gazing contemplatively out the window, surprised at her outburst. “I’ve told you before, Miss Tenten, I find you quite interesting.”

“And  _ I _ find it quite hard to believe that you have so little going on in your life, and know such few interesting people, that it warrants this constant visitation. Is your job so dull?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Do you not have other hobbies? Do you not have other company?”

“I have both.”

“Then  _ why  _ have you been here every weekday afternoon for the past two months? I have  _ studies _ , you know!”

He smiled, slow and sure, and said with a slight tease to his voice, “Would you rather I come on the weekend? Perhaps take you on a picnic, or to a drive-in?”

She gaped at him, incredulous. “Why on  _ earth _ would you do that?”

He suddenly set aside his tea and sat up straight, then- and Tenten could hardly believe it- reached out and took her hands in his. “Miss Tenten,” he began, “After all this time I cannot conclude that you are foolish or stupid, because you have proven to me over and over that you are analytical, bright, and sharp-witted.”

Tenten was utterly baffled. She was so confused that she forgot to yank her hands out of his.

He continued, “As such, I have decided that you are only oblivious.” 

She scowled and was about to yell at him for his insult when he squeezed her hands in his, gave her an earnest look, and concluded, “I am here now, as I have been for the last two months, because I would like to court you.”

* * *

“No.”

He blinked, surprised at her finality. “You are so sure?”

“Men only court women to marry them, and I’ve no intentions to marry.”

“Never?”

“ _ Never.  _ Marriage ruins women.”

“In what way?”

“Husbands only care about their wives so long as they can have children and mind the home. Brilliant, passionate young women are smothered and die through marriage. Marie Curie was the most intelligent, driven woman in science- in the  _ world _ \- but marriage and children only caused her suffering.”

“By all accounts, she and her husband were very happy together. He even insisted her name went with all their shared work and convinced the world of her merit of a Nobel Prize.”

“And then he was killed and her work was never the same.”

He was silent for several long moments, then said quietly, “Is that what it is? You think someone will mean too much to you, and be taken away- or leave- and then you won’t be able to recover.”

She  _ hated  _ him, she absolutely hated him, and she hated that he knew her so well that he didn’t even ask the last part as a question. When had he learned so much about her?

She turned her head to the side and clenched her eyes shut. “ _ Damn  _ you.”

She started as she felt cool fingers press against her jaw. He turned her head to face him again and said quietly, “Well, we wouldn’t have to get married.”

Tenten stared at him, uncomprehending. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles and said, “I know you intend on going to college and getting a degree, and I’m perfectly content to wait for you to do that- and even develop your career first, if you’re interested. Or- or never marry at all, because women are let go the second they get engaged.”

Her mouth parted in shock. “Why- why would you ever even want to be with me, then?”

“It’s hardly as though getting married is the penultimate part of a relationship,” he told her. “It’s just a formalization.”

“But- I- I’m so cross to you, all the time!”

“Yes. It’s quite charming, especially when you like me despite yourself.”

“And I hardly know you! I call you Mr. Hyuga, for heaven’s sake-”

“Then call me Neji.” His hand was still on her jaw, and he smiled as he stroked her cheek. Tenten felt a blush rising as he did.

“Well- then- you must call me Tenten, then.”

He grinned, and the sight of it only intensified her blush. “So I may court you?”

She couldn’t look at him, and flicked her eyes to the side to glare at the tea pot. “I- yes.”

She’d never seen him smile so brightly, or- as it turned out- felt what it was like to be kissed so tenderly.


	7. Day Seven: Amnesia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote ANGST and i am just surprised as you about it. didn't know i had it in me.

It had been three weeks now since Tenten’s boyfriend had abruptly dumped her, and now he apparently had already forgotten their entire seven-month relationship.

Tenten watched him dully as he smiled down at the woman he’d been seeing a lot recently- Kumi, she’d heard. And she knew that it could have been her just being jealous, but she knew his stupid signs of romance and flirting, and he was definitely using them on Kumi.

And she’d been dumped before, so what hurt most was that their relationship had been so sweet and serious, and she never would have thought that  _ Neji  _ of all people would  _ dump  _ her so he could immediately initiate a relationship with someone else.

Neji reached out to hold Kumi’s hand, and Tenten hastily left the university cafe before she started crying.

The wind bit at her the second she opened the door, and she ducked her chin into her coat, biting back a shiver. She was only wearing a t-shirt under her coat, which was proving to be a mistake, but the only clean sweatshirt she had right now was- was one Neji had lent to her.

Maybe the wind wasn’t so bad. It meant she could pretend her eyes were watering.

* * *

Tenten exited lab with weariness set into her bones. She really hadn’t wanted to have any classes so late, but the only time she could fit everything in her schedule was to have her chem lab from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

It didn’t help that her lab partners were really terrible at chemistry, although they  _ were  _ trying very hard. But it always wound up taking them an extra half an hour or so than most other people, and Tenten was lucky to get out by 9:00 most of the time.

And tonight she still had an hour’s worth of homework for a few other classes, so it was promising to be a late night.

She was rounding the corner with a huge yawn, contemplating stopping by Ino and Sakura’s room for a conversational pick-me-up, and then saw Neji exiting one of his professor’s offices. 

(Well, no, not just “ _ one of his professors” _ , because Tenten knew for a fact that it was one of his advisors because of  _ course  _ she knew about Neji’s studies, the same way he knew about hers.)

They both froze and stared at each other for several long moments. Tenten felt like she’d been stripped down to her darkest vulnerabilities under his gaze.

Neji finally shifted on his feet, looking uncomfortable, and spoke. “Tenten… I’d forgotten you had lab here.”

_ Forgotten?  _ He had  _ forgotten _ , when he used to text her encouragement during lab, when he soothed her complaints about it with head massages,  _ god _ , when he used to come by every week to walk her back to her apartment, no matter how late it’d been?

Had she meant so little to him?

Tenten couldn’t breathe past the lump in her throat. She ducked her chin and hurried away without speaking to him.

* * *

Frustratingly, life continued on.

Tenten continued through her classes and her waitressing job, doing her best to smile at her regulars and her classmates. It was hard. She still felt like there was a big cavern in her chest, and every time she saw Neji- no matter how fleetingly- it was like he was carelessly breaking up with her all over again.

He’d apparently stopped with whatever the Kumi thing had been, but that didn’t mean that Tenten wasn’t furious and upset and devastated and- and-

It was just- Neji had worked his way into her life so quickly and quietly that Tenten didn’t realize how close they were, and how much she depended on him, until he didn’t want her anymore.

Tenten’s manager sent her home early after she screwed up her fourth order of the day, with quiet instructions to get some rest and not come in tomorrow unless she was feeling better, okay? Tenten just nodded blankly as she put her apron away and headed out to the bus stop.

A few days that week had been warmer, but it was cold that night as she waited for the bus. (She used to have a boyfriend that would pick her up after her shift, but he- it- that wouldn’t happen anymore.)

She settled into a bus seat and looked out the window, watching the light of the street lamps flicker past. After a few minutes, she noticed the man across from her staring steadily, and her skin prickled uncomfortably.

He didn’t say anything, just blatantly stared at her for the entire bus ride- she chose to get off early, at the university rather than her apartment block, because he was so creepy.

She felt his eyes track her off the bus and tried not to shiver. It wasn’t the first time some creep had singled her out, and probably wouldn’t be the last, but she hated it.

She’d have to wait for the next bus to stop before she made it to her apartment, which would be about half an hour, so she went to the library and tucked herself into a quiet corner to work through her homework while she waited.

Her phone buzzed ten minutes later- Hinata was texting her, in response to Tenten’s earlier complaint about creeps on buses. 

**_Hinata Hyuga_ **

**_Are you okay to call right now?_ **

Tenten didn’t respond, just dialled her.

She picked up right away. “T-Tenten, are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course. I just got off the bus early so I’m waiting for the next one.”

“Was he… was he that creepy?”

“I- well, yeah. I left my pepper spray in my other bag, and he was being so blatant about staring that I just decided to get off at the university and wait. It’s fine, I’m just in the library.”

“Oh.” The relief in Hinata’s voice was palpable. “I’m- I’m glad.”

“It’s not too bad, actually. Getting in some homework.”

“Will you… b-be okay for th-the next- next bus?”

“Yeah. This one was just rough because there was only one other person in the compartment so I wasn’t sure if- I just didn’t want to risk anything.” She heard the slight tremor in her own voice and hated it. 

“Okay, w-well- call me if… if you need anything, okay?”

“Of course. Thanks, Hina.” They disconnected, and Tenten heaved a sigh and checked her watch. Seventeen minutes till the next bus.

Twelve minutes later, she got up and started packing away her things, then departed from her little nook. Her step faltered slightly as the person at the closest table looked up as she was leaving- it was Neji, of  _ course  _ it was Neji, and they made eye contact for half a second before Tenten jerked her gaze away and kept walking like she hadn’t seen him.

He did like the quietness of the library at night, she remembered with a pang, and hurried on.

The next bus was half-full with other passengers, and the ride passed without incident. 

* * *

Her grandmother passed away the next month.

It had been a long time coming, really, but it hurt a lot. The old woman had been sharp-tongued and judgemental, but she loved hard and had taught Tenten everything she knew about cooking.

She missed a few days of classes to fly to China for the funeral, and returned feeling numb and blank-faced. Her distant relatives had given her a very lukewarm welcome, and she had been uncomfortable staying any longer- but she wasn’t ready to get back to her life just yet.

She spent the weekend just curled up in her bed, staring blankly at the walls, the ceilings, the curtains. She ate rarely, and when she did, it was too much. Her showers were just as few and far between.

The low point was when she dug Neji’s sweatshirt out from the back of her closet, pulled it on, and cried the rest of the night with her face buried in it.

The morning after, she woke up with tears streaking down her face and a giant knot in her hair, plus the realization that her room was starting to smell. She ate breakfast and spent an hour untangling her hair before her shower, then somehow managed to keep her momentum going by running a few miles around the park.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Tenten was done. She got back home and pulled out her backpack to do her homework, feeling much better- and immediately hit a mental wall, where even the possibility of studying made her anxious.

She cleaned her room instead. Washing sheets, wiping down walls, dusting, vacuuming- the whole thing. She ate a late lunch afterwards and even managed to send a few emails.

But then she was dawdling again, feeling the weight of her missed classes pressing down on her but physically unable to do them. After half an hour of restless worrying, she texted Ino and Sakura.

**_Tenten_ **

**_Need a study buddy, what are you up to?_ **

**_Ino Yamanaka_ **

**_BORING stuff that i will gladly skip 4 u my love, where you wanna meet?_ **

**_Sakura Haruno_ **

**_I can be there in about 45 mins, just let me know!!_ **

**_Tenten_ **

**_Uni cafe?_ **

**_Ino Yamanka_ **

**_Yeaaaaaa see you there!_ **

Tenten had a ghost of a smile on her face as she closed her phone and began gathering the contents of her backpack. Ino’s vivaciousness was always catching.

Tenten took ten minutes to change into her favorite burgundy sweater and jeans, then did up her hair into the new twin buns-braid combo she’d been meaning to try. She surprised herself with a broad smile in the mirror- she looked nice, and her pleasure with it shone through into her expression.

Ino was already at the cafe when Tenten got there, looking sleekly professional in her pantsuit. Tenten plopped down in the spot across from her and said, “God, Ino, aren’t you cold in that?”

Ino jerked her head up from where she’d been engrossed in her laptop, looking a little startled at Tenten’s sudden presence, but said without missing a beat, “Can’t be cold in a body this hot!”

Tenten laughed, but tried to stifle it when heads swivelled their way. “Shut up, you idiot.” She pulled out her own laptop and notebook, and asked, “I’m gonna go grab something to drink, you want anything?”

“Oooh, yeah, here-” Ino tossed a handful of bills at Tenten and rattled off her order, which Tenten instantly forgot and had to have her write down.

She came back five minutes later balancing both their cups in her hands, and placed Ino’s neatly beside her. She grinned dazzlingly up at her. “Thanks, Ten, you’re such a babe.”

“Aw, Ino.” Tenten fluttered her eyelashes beguilingly as she took her seat. “Thanks for meeting me, by the way. I was feeling very not-motivated and I need someone to bully me.”

“Well, you sure as hell have come to the right place,” Ino winked. “I’m really digging the hair- is that the style you were talking a while ago?”

“Yeah, I finally tried it out.” Tenten reached up to fiddle with her bangs, then said contemplatively, “I’m thinking about getting my bangs cut, too, so they go across the forehead.”

“Oh, you mean like real bangs, and not your parted floaty nonsense?” Ino grinned savagely. She’d always insisted that Tenten didn’t have bangs, just weird short hair on her forehead.

Tenten pointed her pencil menacingly at Ino. “Hey, don’t mock the bangs, Yamanaka. Sasuke imitated these bad boys for  _ years _ .”

Ino sighed dramatically. “Ah, Sasuke. So hot, but such an asshole.”

Tenten grinned as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. “But like-  _ really  _ hot.”

“God,  _ so  _ hot,” Ino agreed. They both devolved into giggles.

They completely and cheerfully failed in their efforts to study for the next hour as they idly chatted and worked their way through their drinks. It wasn’t until Sakura arrived in a hurried breeze through the door that they even remembered the whole “study buddy” thing.

Sakura dropped her books down on the table with a  _ bang _ . Ino and Tenten both smiled up at her as they started chattering at her about measuring spoons- who knew how’d they’d gotten there- but she gave them both a frown and said, “ _ No _ . Nuh-uh, we came here for some studying and that is what we are  _ doing _ , nerds! Discipline and self-regulation!” She raised a fist in the air.

“Nooo, Sakura,” Tenten said, wide-eyed. “Spoooooooooooons.”

“Fine,” Sakura said, and plunked down into the seat.

They’d been talking for another half an hour when Ino finally asked the tentative question, her eyes flickering behind Tenten, “So, how are you feeling, Tenten, after- well, your grandma’s funeral?”

Her bluntness on the subject was something of a relief, because it meant that it was easier for Tenten to be honest. “I mean, it sucked.”

They both made noises of sympathy, and Sakura reached out to grasp her hand. Tenten continued, “Her funeral was  _ awful _ , because I didn’t really know anyone there and they were- polite, but a little exclusive, and when I got home it was like I hadn’t actually been able to reach any catharsis, and I- it was a really bad weekend.”

She took a sip of coffee, somewhat frantically, and added, “But I’m feeling better now. I cried all night, worked out all the emotions-” They were both staring behind her now, apprehensive looks on their faces.

“Guys, what’re you…?” She turned and looked straight into Neji’s eyes.

He was sitting at the table behind them, his own study materials placed neatly around him but going ignored as he stared at her, looking like his legs had been swept out from under him.

Tenten met his gaze for a moment, then said flatly, “Oh.” She turned back to her friends with an eye roll, and asked Ino, “So, then, how’s the psychology- business double major treating you, Ino?”

Sensing Tenten’s desire to push on, Ino was all too happy to launch into a convoluted albeit hilarious story about how both her majors sucked very much but she loved them anyway. Tenten slowly relaxed as the three of them settled back into their conversation- and eventually even got to the studying part.

Tenten wrapped up a few hours later with most of her homework finished, waving goodbye to Ino and Sakura (and ignoring Neji, still sitting behind her) as she started the walk back to her apartment. It was colder out now that the sun had gone down, so she tugged her sweater over her sleeves to prevent her fingers from getting too cold.

Her to-go cup of hot chocolate had cooled by the time she got home. She pouted.

* * *

One week later, she knocked on the door of a high-end apartment, nervously shifting the box in her arms as she waited for someone to answer. She didn't want to be here, but this needed to be done sooner or later. 

Light footsteps came from behind the doorway and it swung open.

Neji stopped short at the sight of her, clearly not expecting to see her there. She gave him a twisted smile. “Uh, hi. So, I was cleaning my apartment the other day and found all this, so...“ She reached out and offered the box to him, containing, among other things, some of his books, a pair of headphones, and that stupid sweatshirt.

(She’d washed the sweatshirt, but later had put on perfume while standing near it so it might smell like her, a little. If it did, she hoped it  _ hurt _ .)

Neji didn’t say anything, just stared at her. He made no move to take the box, so she just awkwardly shoved it into his chest until his arms reached up to take it. 

“Right, so, um, bye.” She turned away and started walking back down the hall, but Neji suddenly spoke behind her.

“No- Tenten, wait.” He grabbed her arm and she stiffened.

He released her immediately, flexing his fingers as his mouth opened and closed. Tenten gave him as neutral a face as she could, brows raised to prompt him on.

Finally, he blurted, “I didn’t want to break up with you.”

_What?_ She stared at him, uncomprehending. He pressed on, “I realize that’s hard to believe-”

She almost snapped at him.

“-but it’s true.” He looked at her like he expected her to ask him more, to go inside and talk things out with him.

Disgust and anger welled in her, and she snarled, “Well, you did it anyway, Neji! You broke up with me.”

He said nothing, just watched her with a hollow look in his eye. 

Satisfaction filled her at the sight. “So it doesn’t fucking matter what your intentions were, what you  _ wanted  _ or  _ didn't want _ , because you still decided that something else was more important than our relationship.”

She paused to catch her breath, then concluded, “You don’t get to just walk that back.” 

With one last glare- she was so  _ angry _ \- she marched away.

Neji stared after her, clutching the box to his chest, his heart aching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check back later for a follow-up chapter from Neji's pov and a probable reunion
> 
> gonna be some other one-shots in between tho


	8. Day Eight: Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wasn't feeling this prompt as much... pretty open ended and might not have a follow up unless demand is high

They met when Neji was asleep.

She had dark hair and amber eyes, and she always looked like she was brooding over something. Sometimes she watched him as the dream played out, sometimes she would be staring off into the distance, but she never spoke to him.

He must have known her from somewhere- why else would she appear so regularly, next to all the people he knew so well from his real life?- but he could never figure out where. She was just a quiet figure in the back of his mind.

His dreams were usually pretty innocuous- random mayhem, assembled sparingly from the events that happened in his life. He was at work and then needed to pick up his dry cleaning, which was at work now for some reason, but Hanabi showed up and told him that she needed him to fly out to Konoha on a business trip- which made no sense, because he worked and  _ lived  _ in Konoha, but in the dream it followed a clear, logical path.

Things like that, an accumulation of his life, made sense to be in his dreams- it was what he knew- but not  _ this _ . This did not make sense.

He was being pursued- by who or what, he didn’t know, but he knew that if he was caught, he would die.

There were no true shapes around him, just shadows leaping forward, and he ran blindly. His pursuers were getting closer and his terror spiked-

And then they were gone, and he was surrounded by a soft gray mist. He sat up from where he was laying on the ground, confused and ready for a fight-

There was a soft hand cradling his jaw, and a voice murmured, “Neji, no, it’s okay.” His eyes were open but he couldn’t see, but he felt himself relaxing despite himself as the voice continued, “They’re gone, Neji. You can wake up now.”

Her tone was soft and caring, and as he slowly faded into wakefulness he could see the outline of warm amber eyes and lips curled into a tender smile.

* * *

She was in another of his dreams not long after that, one of his ordinary ones, but instead of leaving her alone to stare off into space, he marched up to her and demanded, “How did you do that?”

She startled, whipping around look up at him. Up close, her eyes were actually a dark brown, with little hazel flecks that made them seem lighter. He pressed on, “How did you change my dream?”

She gaped, then surged to her feet. “You shouldn’t be able to talk to me.”

“Clearly, what I should or should not be able to do isn’t a concern right now,” he told her coldly. “I don’t know you from anywhere in my real life, and I figured you were a construct of my imagination, but  _ you  _ are the one who changed my dream the other night. Who are you?”

She ignored his questions, reaching up to nudge him back towards where Lee was doing handstands in his dream. “You need to go back to your normal dream.”

He stood firm, staring down at her. “No. Not until you give me some answers.”   
  


Desperation shone in her eyes. “Neji,  _ please- _ ”

“How do you know my name? How are you in my dreams?”

There was suddenly a deafening shatter, and the edges of his vision began to crinkle- no, he realized, not the edges of his vision, but the dream itself.

Lee disappeared as darkness shredded a hole into his dream, and shadows leaped towards him once more. The woman grasped his hand in hers as she smoothly pivoted to face the shadows, a sword suddenly in her hand. 

Neji felt panic filling him again, rising in his chest and clawing at his throat-

“Steady,” she whispered. “Hold your ground, focus on me.”

He breathed deep and did his best to comply, concentrating on the feel of her hand in his, the warmth of her figure, the timbre of her voice. 

The shadows faded away again, though he hadn’t noticed her move, and the misty gray background slowly appeared around them again. Neji staggered on his feet, suddenly exhausted. 

The woman draped his arm over his shoulder and settled him down, then gently lifted his head and placed it in her lap as she smoothed his hair behind his ear. “All right,” she told him, still in that soft, sotto voce. “Wake up when you’re ready.” 

_ Who are you?  _ The question rose in his throat but could not push through his lips, and faded back into his mind as his consciousness stirred.

* * *

He went through his day very mechanically, constantly thinking of  _ her _ , of how there was no way his mind could have thought someone like her up. He didn’t know whether he was excited or trepidatious to go to bed, because he was certain she would be there again.

But before he could worry about that, he needed to finish his day, and right now he was scheduled to get lunch with Lee and one of his old classmate’s friends from out of town.

Neji was a few minutes early, so he sat drinking his tea and staring out the window at the sidewalks far down below- they were at a high-end restaurant, which normally Lee wouldn’t necessarily care for, but he was very partial to the desserts here and Neji told him it was the Hyuga’s treat.

He didn’t know the person Lee was bringing with him, only that they grew up in the same schools and hardly ever saw each other since adulthood despite living nearby.

Neji and Lee had been scheduled for lunch months ago, so he’d opened the invitation for Lee to bring his friend. He was interested in meeting them- Lee was friendly but intense, and Neji knew it scared people away despite Lee’s traits that made him such a loyal friend. 

Neji watched idly as a bird fluttered by the window, sipping his tea in the calm of his quiet corner.

The calm did not last long, as Lee was bursting into the room to engulf Neji in a hug. He laughed as he returned it, and as they pulled away from one another, he told Lee with a fond clap on the shoulder, “You’d hardly know we saw one another this weekend, the way you greet me.”

“Can’t be helped!” Lee chirped in return. “I like my friends.”

“SPEAKING OF FRIENDS,” he suddenly bellowed, and Neji winced as the sound reverberated in his ear. “Neji, this is my friend Tenten! Best friends since diapers!”

“Diapers is a bit of a stretch,” Lee’s companion said drily. Her tone was both fond and exasperated. “Preschool, maybe.” She walked forward to shake Neji’s hand, a smile curling her lips-

She looked up at Neji and they both froze as they recognized one another. Her hazel-flecked eyes shone like polished mahogany in the light of the room, and she blinked up at him, once, twice. For his part, Neji couldn’t move, his hand curled over hers.

“I still wore diapers in preschool!” Oblivious to their shock, Lee continued their conversation as he pulled out chairs for both of them at the table. “So  _ yes _ , Tenten, we have indeed been friends since diapers!”

The woman jerked back to reality with the call of her name and turned back to Lee. She pasted on a nervous-looking smile that went unnoticed by Lee- but Neji’s sharp eyes took it in clearly- and said, “Fine, fine. Diapers.”

Lee laughed victoriously as they all sat down. “AHA! Now, Neji, you mentioned to me the other day that Hinata was starting to attend her culinary classes, is she enjoying them?” They settled into conversation with one another as Neji fought for clarity. He knew his answers were a little slower than normal, but he was thinking hard.

So the woman was not only a real person, but a friend of Lee’s- Tenten. And she clearly recognized him in their real life, so it was plausible that she was truly entering his dreams, for a reason he could not fathom.

She kept meeting his gaze and darting her eyes away again, clearly rattled. Neji took a slow sip of his wine- he’d asked for it once they’d ordered lunch, because he figured he’d need it- and decided quietly to himself that he ought to let her enjoy her time with Lee. If Lee had known her this long and trusted her, that would have to be good enough- for now.

So he sat back and let the conversation flow between himself and Lee, and Lee’s energy slowly coaxed Tenten into participating as well.

Which may have been something of a mistake on Neji’s part, because he had not counted on liking her so much.

She was smart and funny and playful, and treated Lee with easy camaraderie that spoke of their years together. Neji found out that she was a forensic scientist who specialized in weapons and they had a long discussion about it- Neji had always wanted to go into biological forensics, but his family had nudged him into business and he had always looked over his shoulder, wondering.

Lee excused himself to use the restroom, but it didn’t even occur to Neji to ask Tenten about her presence in his dreams, as he was too involved in their conversation. Tenten had clearly relaxed, and was even comfortable teasing him lightly.

Eventually, she cleared her throat and asked cautiously, “Are you going to ask me… about…” she trailed off and took a large sip of wine. 

Neji smiled at her. “Can’t I just ask you later?” He’d see her in his dreams again, he was sure.

Unexpectedly, she flushed. “I mean, technically, you’re not supposed to interact with me then.”

He shrugged elegantly. “Too bad.”

“Fine,” she muttered, smiling into her wine.

Lee returned a few minutes later and they settled back into conversation, then ordered dessert. Lee got his favorite matcha parfait, but because Tenten had never tried any of the desserts at this particular place- well, any of the food at all, technically- they ordered a few of the classics for them all to share.

Neji usually went for the less sweet desserts- he liked the slightly bitter dark chocolate truffles, and the cheese plate- but watching Tenten hum happily over the pineapple upside-down cake almost made him reconsider his opinions.

Neji snapped up the bill before either of his dining companions even had a chance to think about it, then walked them out to their car (he would be taking a cab back to the office). He and Lee hugged one another goodbye, then he went to shake Tenten’s hand- but much to his surprise she took the extra half-step and leaned up to wrap her arms over his shoulders to hug him.

“It was nice to meet you,” she murmured into his ear. 

“Likewise,” he said, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt.

They separated, and Tenten and Lee waved at him over their shoulder as they got into the car. Neji waved them away as they pulled out of the parking spot and drove off, then walked back to where his cab was waiting, still pink-faced.

* * *

For some reason, instead of the all-black combat attire Tenten normally wore in his dreams, she was wearing the same pantsuit she had been in during lunch. 

They were both confused by it. “That’s new,” Neji told her.

“Yeah,” she muttered. “Normally before I enter I’m able to-” she cut herself off, biting her lip.

He quirked a brow. “ _ Enter _ , as in, enter my dreams?”

“No,” she said, mouth twisting stubbornly. “Enter- something else. Mind your own business.”

“This is  _ undoubtedly  _ my business.”

“...maybe a little bit.”

“Oh, just a little?”

“Like,  _ microscopically _ -” 

He crooked a grin at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Fine. It’s- you know enough as is, I may as well answer your questions.”

* * *

Neji somehow managed to put a table in his dream, so they sat- and then some tea appeared, so they drank.

Tenten was quiet for a while, and Neji let her stew until she blurted, “I’m part of a- a group that enters the dreams of specific individuals who haven’t yet unlocked their magic, but are still vulnerable to- to evil forces, for lack of a better word.”

He stared, tea suspended mid-air.

“Yeah.” She muttered. “It’s weird.”

He finished his sip, then said, “So, when I have nightmares, those things are- real?”

“Yes.”

“And your presence - does something to prevent and/or end their effects in my dreams?”

“I use my own magic to fight them, yes.”

Neji stared some more, less taken aback by this revelation than he probably should have been. Finally he said, “Very well, then,” and managed to summon her some pineapple upside-down cake.

* * *

Tenten’s role in his dreams had shifted- now they walked around together as Tenten slowly taught him bits of magic, specifically the parts that allowed him to protect himself.

When she’d pressed him, he’d explained that her revelations weren’t terribly shocking to him because one, she’d always been distinctly “other” in his dreams and two, his family was  _ weird _ , to say the least, and perhaps it even made sense that they had magic.

Tenten had told him they were never meant to meet face-to-face, or even interact in his dreams as her role of his Dream Guardian technically prohibited it. He’d merely shrugged and done his best to make his dream take place in the Hyuga family gardens.

(He’d been trying his hands at lucid dreaming, and so far it worked in small amounts.)

He cared so little about Tenten’s guidelines as his Guardian that he’d gotten her contact info from Lee, and they’d since gotten lunch a few times to talk- not about his dreams, surprisingly, but about anything at all. Before long, they were texting one another during the day as well, and she’d dragged him to the farmers’ market with her and Lee on the weekend. 

Neji had not exactly  _ needed  _ to watch Lee stumble his way through a “flirty” conversation with the handsome red-headed cactus seller, but was entertained nonetheless. 

Tenten teased Lee mercilessly on their way back about how he only liked gingers- “First Sakura in middle school, and now Mr. Cactus-”

“HIS NAME IS GAARA,” Lee had told her loudly, then flushed and clutched his new plants a little closer. Tenten only snickered in response.

Tenten gave Neji a ride home afterwards and wound up staying for lunch (which she mostly made herself because Neji was… not a gifted cook). Lunch turned into watching a movie Neji had never seen that she insisted was a classic, and then into dinner and walk in the park nearby. They finally split ways outside Tenten’s car, parked on the street outside the apartment building, with a quick hug- and Neji was glad she took the initiative, because he was never much of an instigator himself and hadn’t wanted to come across poorly- and a wave.

He was sure he’d see her again soon, though.


	9. Day Nine: "As if it's your loss"

“Your loss.”

_ God.  _ Tenten rolled her eyes at the typical response, tempted to snap back that no, it really wasn’t, skeezeball. Instead, she turned back to the bar and, more importantly, to her drink.

Skeezeball walked away behind her, swaggering like he really was all that, and Tenten knocked back the rest of her bourbon. She looked at it ruefully- she’d meant to sip that for the next fifteen minutes or so- and put up her hand for her bartender’s attention. He nodded at her from over where he was serving another group, and she settled back to wait.

He was over a few minutes later. “Ma’am?”

“Another bourbon, please.” 

He nodded and went to make the drink, and she absentmindedly eyed the stretch of his shoulders, then blinked a few times and looked away. He slid the drink in front of her a few moments later, and she gave him a quick smile before he went over to another customer.

Tenten watched the crowd for the next half an hour as she sipped her drink- skeezeball was still there, jostling around with a group of men and getting louder by the minute, but she ignored him in favor of watching the quietest bachelorette party in the world chatting in low voices.

Eventually her drink was empty and she waved down the bartender to close out her tab. Just before she got his attention though, skeezeball was suddenly at her side again. Tenten groaned.

“Last chance before I go hookup with someone else, baby,” he smirked. 

She curled her lip at him. “What, have you not hit your rejection quota for the day?”

There was a quiet exhalation of laughter from across the bar, and she glanced over at the bartender from the corner of her eye as he stifled his smirk.

Skeezeball, sensing that he was losing face, sneered back, “Whatever, you uptight bitch.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you’re super cool. Next time someone tells you to piss off, maybe you should actually do it.”

She turned away to face the bartender. “I’m ready to close my tab, when you get a chance.” 

“Of course,” he said smoothly. Skeezeball, ignored by both of them, stormed away angrily.

The bartender watched him go and sair wryly, “You clearly missed the jackpot with that one.”

Tenten laughed. “Yeah, I’ll be regretting letting him go for the rest of my life.” She passed him her card, and he took it back to the register. She watched him go again, considering his back muscles. They were very nice.

Card returned with a small smile from the bartender- she hadn’t seen too many from him and it was pleasant looking- she placed some cash down for a tip before putting on her coat and departing.

* * *

She was back at the bar a little under two weeks later, this time with Shikamaru as they went through one of their cases together. The same bartender was there, and when he saw her he gave her a small smile and asked, “Bourbon, or something different this time?”

“Bourbon,” she confirmed, pleased he remembered her. Shikamaru ordered a beer, then turned to her with a raised brow. “You a regular here?” 

“No, he just witnessed me deal with an idiot last time I was here and it must have stuck.”   
  


“Mm.” He flipped open one of their files and paged through it absentmindedly. “And how long ago was that?”

“Like, a week and half? Maybe a little more. Why?”   
  


“‘Cuz he’s into you,” Shikamaru drawled.

Tenten rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

“Seriously. Have you come before?”

“Yeah, this is on my way home so I’m here maybe once or twice a month.”

“Is he usually bartending?”

She squinted in thought, trying to recall the times she’d been there. “Couple of times that I can remember.”

Shikamaru set the folder down very deliberately. “And how attentive is he?”

“I mean, he’s usually there a few minutes after I get his attention.”

He grinned at her. “Alright. Now I want you to watch other people get his attention, and see how soon he goes to help them.”

Tenten stared at him for a moment, then sat back, shaking her head. “You’re a trip, dude.”

“Just watch,” he promised. The bartender passed them their drinks a few moments later with that small little smile.

Tenten mostly focused on work for the next few minutes, but Shikamaru’s nagged at her and she eventually starting watching the bartender over the top of her case file.

She blinked, surprised, as he took upwards of seven minutes to get to most other people- but he was  _ busy _ \- but also not in a hurry.

Shikamaru was grinning at her, and she scowled. “Well, maybe he’s just not helpful towards the assholes.”

“Sure,” he muttered. “I bet if I came here by myself and was super polite he’d definitely rush over to me anytime I needed him.”

“First of all, shut up, idiot. Secondly, it was less busy when we came in earlier, I’m sure if I asked now he’d take just as long.”

Shikamaru knocked back the rest of his beer and slammed his empty bottle down on the table. “Prove it.”

Tenten scowled and took the last sip of her bourbon, then placed her glass down neatly. “Fuck you.” She waved at the bartender, and- like usual- he gave her a quick nod and-  _ also  _ like usual for her, but apparently not for everyone else- was over in the next minute to assist them.

Tenten was so thrown off that she almost didn’t talk. “Uh-um, another bourbon, please.” He nodded- smiled- and glanced over at Shikamaru- not smiling.

“Nothing for me, thanks,” he said lazily. 

Tenten had her drink less than three minutes later despite all the other customers clamoring for attention and she stared at it, blushing. Shikamaru laughed into his hand.

* * *

Tenten went to the bar again a week later- just in case it was a fluke or something.

It wasn’t. The bartender greeted her easily, gave her fast service, and seemed glad to talk to her when she (sparingly) engaged him in conversation despite the other customers waving at him.

He also was at her side almost instantly when she was brushing off the few guys that tried to make a move on her- fortunately they all took it well, except for one fuckhead who got pretty in-your-face at Tenten’s polite turndown.

She took a sip of her beer- yeah, she went a little off her usual this time- and debated spitting it in his face, but he evidently decided that a “frigid chick like her” wasn’t worth his time and stalked away.

There was a pale (very attractive) hand sliding her a bourbon a few moments later, and she looked up at the bartender, surprised. He gave her an almost self-conscious smirk.

“Figured you’d need something a little stronger, after that,” he said. “On the house.”

She beamed - she  _ knew  _ she beamed- up at him. “Thanks!”

He blinked rapidly in succession a few times, then his own smile broadened. “Of course. Although I must say, I do enjoy watching them try to recover their dignity and make it seem as if it’s your loss.”

Tenten laughed. “Well, of course it is. I mean, who wouldn’t want all… that?” She indicated where the asshole had immediately started hitting on someone else, looking over his shoulder at Tenten to make sure she was watching.

The bartender snorted. “I’d better go make sure he doesn’t get nasty with her.”

He wasn’t looking at her, so Tenten was comfortable giving him a slightly starstruck grin- he wasn’t just rushing to her aid because he was into her, then, if he was keeping an eye out for the other women too. It was reassuring. “All right. I’m Tenten, by the way.”

He swivelled to look at her, grinning outright. “Neji. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” she echoed, and smiled as she sipped her bourbon.

Neji walked over to where the asshole was and politely menaced him away from the other woman (who looked like she was glad to see him go), and Tenten watched his shoulders again as he went.

She thought about what he had said for the next few minutes- her loss, when she didn’t take up some skeevy guys on their offer. Her loss that she’d hadn’t wanted to be some misogynistic asshole’s lay of the week.

Her loss if she didn’t make a move on Neji, who was kind and funny and very, very good looking.

Mind made up, she signaled for her tab- and felt a rush go down her spine when Neji smiled and said, “Good night, Tenten,” as he handed her card back- then carefully wrote her name and number on a clean napkin, and placed it up for prominent display. 

  
  
  



	10. Day Ten: Illusions

Tenten smacked into Neji’s back for the sixth time and muttered, “Ouch.”

“Learn to walk,” he yell-whispered.

“No,” she muttered back, rubbing her nose.

He shot her one last glare over his shoulder and stalked forwards again. She followed, a little further away this time.

He was just pissy because Hinata had sneaked out, again, and now he had to go find her- without getting her in trouble with her father, and without getting in trouble himself. Which meant that  _ Neji  _ had to sneak out to, and get his cousin back before 3:00 AM. 

Somehow he’d convinced Tenten to come along to help him- well, not  _ somehow _ , because she cared about what happened to Hinata and had largely volunteered- so they were stumbling around in the dark outside a warehouse that hypothetically had a teenage party going on down in the basement.

Tenten actually knew for a fact that the party was happening down there, because she had been invited. Neji hadn’t, but she didn’t rub it in or anything, she was just satisfied with the knowledge that she was much cooler than him.

Hence why he’d needed her help to find out where the party was. 

“You owe me for this,” she reminded him as she reached for the fake lock. Neji was a party pooper and would quickly end things for the teens down below. And they’d be pissed at Tenten for bringing him.

“I  _ know _ ,” he hissed. “Hurry up, it’ll take us twenty minutes to get back.”

“Shhhhh…” she squinted at the lock, then grabbed one of her hairpins and pretended to pick it. Neji didn’t need to know it was fake, and this would make her favor seem a little more inconvenient.

She yanked the lock off like it’d been opened, and Neji shoved past her to descend the steps. 

“You’re  _ welcome _ ,” she muttered. He ignored her.

They could hear the bass of the music now, thumping up the steps, and a few yells and shrieks. Tenten only hoped they weren’t about to confront a mass of drunken teenagers like last time.

Neji pushed the door open and strode into the room, ignoring the squawks of the “doorman” as he fruitlessly tried to stop him. Tenten followed after him, shoving the kid out of her way when he cut her off one too many times.

Neji stopped in the middle of the dance floor and started surveying the crowd with a scowl- Tenten was amused to note that a large empty space quickly formed around him- and scanning for his cousin.

It would be ineffective, though, so instead Tenten grabbed Choji by his arm, yelled a greeting, and asked him where Hinata was. He yelled something back she couldn’t hear, then pointed towards the back rooms.

_ Ah, shit _ . She hollered her thanks and grabbed Neji by his arm, tugging him towards the rooms. He fought her for a moment before she glared, then followed her with a grimace.

Tenten hammered on the first door and poked her head in. The couple inside jerked apart and pulled hands out from shirts and pants- but neither one of them was Hinata, so Tenten just bounced her eyebrows at them a few times and moved on.

They went through two other rooms before they found Hinata- both with couples in various states of undress- and the Hyuga was fortunately just sitting with Kiba and Shino, eating hummus.

“Seriously?” Tenten demanded, carefully blocking Neji’s sightline and hearing. “You could eat hummus anywhere, Hina, why you gotta sneak out to do it?”

Hinata giggled. “The weed was here.”

_ Ah, shiiiit _ . “How long ago was your last hit?” Tenten furiously shoved Neji back by his face as he tried to push his way in.

“Uhhhh…” Hinata screwed up her face in thought, and Kiba snickered. Hinata retaliated by throwing a pillow at his face, and as they squabbled Shino muttered, “It’s wearing off now. You’re really pretty, Tenten.”

The entire room froze after he said it. Neji went stock-still under Tenten’s palm.

“Thanks,” Tenten finally said. “Hinata, we need to get you home.” Hinata tottered to her feet, humming, and headed out the door.

She saw Neji and gaped, then said to herself. “Oh, fuck, it’s Neji!”

“Yes, it is,” he said, in an even worse mood now. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her arm and yanked her away, and Tenten followed, grimacing.

They hurried out to the car and bundled Hinata into the backseat, and she whispered quietly to herself for the next couple minutes as Neji and Tenten were stone-cold silent in the front.

Once they’d arrived back at the Hyuga home, they carefully deactivated all the alarms and snuck Hinata back up to her room, Tenten with her hand clamped over her mouth so she would stop  _ humming _ .

Once they’d shoved Hinata into her bed- with instructions to  _ sleep _ \- they ducked back into Neji’s room.

Tenten flopped face down on his bed. “Ugh, I hope she’s sober by morning.”

“She’ll be fine. Get up and go home.”

She was silent for several long seconds. “You’re such a dick,” she finally muttered, practically whispering so he wouldn’t hear how tight her voice was. 

Any time-  _ every time _ \- that Neji asked a favor of her, no matter how inconvenient, no matter how complicated, she dropped everything to help him, and all it had ever gotten her was a decaying friendship.

He asked bigger and bigger things from her and then blew her off so he could go to professional events instead, or bend over backwards to help his family-

(and she felt terrible complaining about it, because she loved Hinata and Hanabi but sometimes it was hard to be shunted to the side so many times-)

And she knew she’d always help him, because she still cared about him, so so much, even though he could barely be bothered.

But maybe- maybe she could help him only when he asked, to try to mend her broken heart and get over her illusions.

She got up off the bed and headed to the door. “All right. See you later.” She fought to keep her voice normal. 

“Good bye.” Neji’s voice was as curt as it ever was, and Tenten didn’t look back as she left.

* * *

And before she knew it, her plan had worked.

Tenten never reached out to Neji to hang out any more, never tried her best to persuade him to accompany her to group events, never tried to interact with him unless he instigated it.

And it hurt, so much- just liked she’d expected and feared, it was only ever when he wanted her to do something for him. 

They’d sit next to each other in class and never spoke, when once Tenten had coaxed conversation out of him. She’d help him track down Hinata when she snuck out and then walked home alone in the dark without telling him he owed her. She stopped asking him about his life outside school and stopped telling him about hers. And to Neji, nothing seemed different. 

Tenten was no longer under any illusions- she’d only ever been a means to an end to him.

Or so she thought, which is why it was such a shock when he suddenly pinned her against her locker one day. 

“You’re going to the dance with Shino?” He demanded. His grip on her arm was tight.

She stared up at him, surprised he even found out. She’d always assumed she was the little social interaction he had. “Yeah, he asked. I told him we’d go as friends.”

He was glaring, which confused her. This wasn’t something he’d care about; it was socialization. 

“Why did he even ask you?”

That stung, a lot. Tenten felt her face go blank, and she said, “Because he pities me, I guess. There’s no other possible reason why someone would want to go to prom with me, is there?” By the end of her question the anger was leaking into her voice and she was almost yelling. 

Neji just sighed and pinched his brow, as if she was being unreasonable. “Tenten, please. I obviously didn’t mean-”

“I don’t  _ care _ ,” she told him, yanking her arm away from his as her voice cracked. He looked shocked, but she just pivoted away and hurried to class.

* * *

Neji called her again that night to go get Hinata- again, the second time that week. Tenten was seriously considering just telling Hinata to talk to her father about extending her curfew.

She made the long walk over to the Hyuga house, yawning and tugging up her sweatshirt hood over her head. She went through the window on the first floor, same as always, and climbed up the stairs to Neji’s room. She knocked very quietly, blinking her eyes drowsily, and then squinted one eye shut as he opened the door and light suddenly spilled into her eyes.

“Hi,” she murmured through her screwed-up facial expression. 

“...hi,” he whispered, and stepped back to let her in.

Tenten walked through the doorway and plunked down on the bed, curling her feet up underneath her in an effort to keep her toes a little warmer. “So, any ideas about where she is this time? I haven’t heard about any parties…” She trailed off with a yawn, then sighed and allowed her head to rest against the wall.

Neji hadn’t moved from the doorway, and was just staring at her while he leaned against the door. Finally, he said, “No, I… it’s actually something different this time.”

She righted herself to look at him. “Different? Different how?”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Tenten hastily threw herself off the bed to hide. Neji held up a hand to steady her as he opened the door.

Tenten stared in shock at Hinata, standing in the dark hallway in her pajamas. “Neji, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he told his cousin, and Tenten realized Hinata couldn’t actually see her from where she was behind the door. “Just couldn’t sleep, go back to bed.”

“O-okay,” Hinata relented, and departed. Neji closed the door and turned back to Tenten with a strange expression on his face.

“Uh, Neji?” She asked, as sweetly as she could. “What’s going on?”

He scuffed his foot against the floor, looking almost… hesitant. “I… I needed to talk to you.”

_ What the hell?  _ “What the hell?”

He pinched his brow. “I know, it’s weird, and late, but I- this wasn’t something I could just text you about.”

“Then wait till it’s not one in the freakin’ morning!” her voice had risen slightly, and she hurriedly brought it back down.

He was looking more and more upset. “No, I- I didn’t want to wait.”

She gave him another disbelieving look, baffled, and he took a few steps closer. He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture she’d never seen out of him, then abruptly took a deep breath and stood up straight.

When he looked at her, the intensity in his gaze sent a thrill through her despite herself. 

“Don’t go to prom with Shino,” he said, the words spilling from his mouth so fast that she almost couldn’t follow. “Go with me.”

* * *

“...wat?” She blinked up at him, uncomprehending.

His confidence seemed to waver, just a little bit. “Please.”

“...wat?”

He sat down next to her on the bed, and reached his hand over to hers to lace their fingers together. “Please go to prom with me.”

She stared at his serious expression, their joined hands. “I… wat?”

He just stared at her, waiting for her answer.

She thought in silence for a long time- almost two entire minutes- before saying slowly, “Shino asked me first, even if it’s as friends and not romantically.”

He nodded, and the raw defeat in his eyes made her feel much better about the next words she was going to say. 

“But, that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t… wouldn’t spend time together there, if you went.” It was the only lifeline she was willing to give him, after all he’d put her through.

His expression smoothed over, and his smile was slow but sure. “I’d like that.”

He paused.

“I- I know you’re mad at me, right now,” he swallowed nervously before rushing on, “and you have been for a few weeks.”

_ She- what? _

“I thought… that if I gave you space, you’d come forward with what was bothering you, but you haven’t talked to me for a month and I can’t keep waiting for you. Will you tell me what I did?” His hand tightened minutely over hers.

Tenten’s throat felt thick. All this time, and she’d just assumed he hadn’t cared about her. 

“It’s…” She couldn’t get the words out while he was looking at her, so she buried her face into his shoulder instead. “I- I wasn’t mad at you, exactly, I just… it felt like you were taking me for granted, and I didn’t want to put up with you demanding so much from me and barely giving anything in return.”

By the end of her explanation, the words were pouring out of her faster than she could stop them. “So I- I was starting to pull away and end our friendship.”

The stricken silence next to her made her eyes sting, and she hastily yanked her head back up to look at him. “And- I should’ve talked to you about it first, and I feel awful about it-”

“No,” he cut in abruptly, “If you were- feeling that way about it, then I must have been… unbearable. Tennie-” (and she almost cried at the nickname, because he hadn’t called her that in what felt like  _ years _ ) “-can you forgive-”

She clapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. “No, can you forgive  _ me _ -”

Her hand was firmly moved away. “No. Can you-” 

“Shut your MOUTH, Neji, can-”

He reached out to stop her from talking and she dodged back, and in the resulting scuffle Tenten finally managed to pin him face-down on the bed and declare, “I win, now you have to forgive me!” 

He mumbled something, the sound stifled by the mattress pressing into his face. Tenten squinted at him. “Wat?” 

He wiggled so he could roll over to face her, so she got off him and moved her knee so it was no longer pressing into his spine… and he immediately grabbed her and rolled them over so he was lying propped on his elbows above her, grinning.

She gaped, then screeched indignantly, “Cheater!”

“Shh…” he placed a mocking finger over her lips. “Hinata and Hanabi are sleeping.”

She  _ seriously  _ debated biting him for a moment. “And your uncle.”

“No, he’s not here. He has a business trip.”

“Wha- and Hinata didn’t sneak out? Why does she only do it when he’s  _ home _ ?”

He shrugged. “Dunno.”

The way his voice rumbled through his chest and against her skin made her shiver a little, and, still running off the high of talking out their relationship, she blurted, “Hey, you know how you owe me  _ huge  _ for all the times I’ve helped you out?”

He blinked slowly. “...Yes. Are you cashing in?”

“Yeah. Remember you have to do what I want and no protests!”

His expression became suspicious. “Why, what do you want?”

She grinned up at him, trying to work up her nerve while suppressing her anxiety- he’d just asked her to prom, which meant he was probably almost definitely into her. “Close your eyes.”

“You-”

“CLOSE ‘EM.” He scowled and obediently closed his eyes. Tenten considered his face for several long moments- she’d missed him, a lot- and then lifted her chin and softly pressed her mouth to his.

* * *

Tenten didn’t wind up spending that much time with Shino at prom, despite her efforts- he’d asked her, so she wanted to spend time with him. But then he’d told her that he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go, and had been so odd about it that most of the efforts she made to make plans had fallen through.

So they’d just arrived together in the same group, and he’d since disappeared. After ten minutes of looking for him, she’d decided to call it quits, and sat with Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Temari at a table, talking.

And maybe she knew part of the reason Shino had been so weird about it- she knew he was hoping that the strictly platonic rules she’d put down would turn out differently, and instead she’d started dating someone else while telling him she’d still go with him and that it wouldn’t change anything anyway.

So yes, she’d probably hurt his heart a little, but it was never going to happen in the first place and she’d made it clear going in.

And the fact that he was avoiding her meant that it wasn’t out of line that she had quite a few dances with someone else.

Neji had to be persuaded, of course, but once he was out on the dance floor with her he seemed glad to sway together, her head resting against his chest while he nuzzled his face into her bare shoulder.

(She’d spent  _ so long  _ dithering over wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, but this was paying off big time.)

She eventually tugged her boyfriend (her boyfriend!) to a dark corner for a few slow, involved kisses, then they went up to the next level to watch the balloon drop from above. Neji settled his palm over the small of her back ( _ swoon _ ) and she leaned against his shoulder as they watched their cheering classmates below.

He leaned over and kissed her temple, murmuring something against her skin that she couldn’t catch. She turned to look at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, leaning down and kissing her again, then frowned. “No, not nothing. I love you.”

She blinked up at him a few times, her smile widening with every second. “I love you too.”

His slow, elated grin told her everything she needed to know about what he thought about that. 


	11. Day Eleven: Synapse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so much later than usual. my classes kicked into high gear so finishing this was less of a priority, but i've pushed through the first round of exams and got it completed. it's also 15k words, so hopefully that'll tide me over for a while lol.
> 
> i'll be doing one more piece for sure for ntmonth2019, but i may take a break after ch 12 to go back to the modern AU i have going on. i've got like 3-ish mostly complete pieces for it already, so hopefully i can get them out a little more regularly.
> 
> also, this entire story has pretty much zero relation to the prompt, but uh. it'll be entertaining anyway i hope

It was the fourth time his eyes flicked up to look up at her in the last two minutes, but Tenten steadfastly ignored him, instead focusing on going through the employee receipts from the last month. 

Perhaps she understood why he was so unfocused on his own work, but that didn’t mean _she_ would just let herself slack off. If she didn’t give him a real reason to fire her, then that would make it much harder for him. Her work was excellent and they both knew it, and if he thought getting engaged was a real reason to fire a woman then she’d make _sure_ her departure would leave a mess of things.

Receipts finished and error-free, she got up and marched them over to Mr. Hyuga’s office. She knocked once, sharply, on the doorframe, then entered. “The employee receipts, sir.”

“Thank you.” He took them from her- with another distracted frown at the ring on her finger- and set the receipts next to his stack of paperwork. She exited back to her own desk, leaving the door open as it had been when she entered, because clearly the man needed to keep staring at her to figure out his conundrum of what to do with an engaged woman secretary.

_Hmph_.

* * *

Neji frowned after his clerk as she started typing out one of the letters he’d given her on the typewriter, tapping his fingers against the desk in thought. 

Tenten was an excellent, scrupulous worker, and losing her to a marriage and family would leave a very large hole to fill in the company. He didn’t want to let her go, not really, but he was sure her to-be husband would not allow her to work. It was such a shame.

He thought, again, of the simple band around her finger, and wondered about her new fiance. He had no idea who the man was, or anything about him. Was he truly suited for Tenten, with her snappish temper and impatient drive? Really, she needed someone who matched her in intensity but was completely calm and unshakable-

He cut himself off from the slightly inappropriate thought. Tenten was his employee and he was in no position to wonder over a young woman’s personal life. He picked up his next memo and started reading it over, trying to concentrate only on its contents.

It was about one of the new machines his family was considering adding to their factories, which meant that Neji would be needing to take a trip to view it and decide if it was worth the investment. The only available one was all the way in St. Louis, which meant a long train ride and an entire week out of town…

Neji pinched his brow and re-read the paper- it was worded as a suggestion, but he knew it was really an order- then let himself huff quietly as the only expression of his exasperation. He wouldn’t be available to travel for another five weeks, and now this meant he’d have to leave his schedule open.

And he would need his secretary to accompany him, as she had in the past, and it meant he wouldn’t have any time to train in a new one before Tenten was- let go. So he would have to leave off firing her for now- letting her go, that is- and ask her if she would clear out her engagements- a poor way of phrasing it, he didn’t want her to clear her engagement, or end it, or anything like that, he just wanted her to clear her schedule, yes-

He took the part of his mind that was so distracted and ruthlessly killed it off. “Miss Tenten, will you come in here when you get the chance?”

“Yes, Mr. Hyuga.”

* * *

“An entire week?” Sasuke frowned at her. “That’s a long time for an unmarried woman to be traveling alone with her employer.”

“I’m engaged,” she told him dryly. “Halfway there, at least. And I’ve travelled with him before, just not for so long a time.”

Her fiance sat back and ruminated on it for several moments, and she absently eyed his pretty face with a sort of detached appreciation, even if her feelings were nothing more than platonic. Finally he muttered, “Hyuga, right? Neji Hyuga?”

“Yes.”

He settled his brooding stare at some point in the distance. “Well, even if I don’t get along with Hyugas just on principle-” Tenten rolled her eyes. “-Neji’s a decent enough person, or so Naruto insists.”

(Tenten’s mouth twisted a little at the mention of Sasuke’s- friend.)

“If it’s what you need to do for work,” Sasuke concluded, and Tenten nodded, smiling a little to ease some of their residual awkwardness. Sasuke grimaced back, and then he went back to his coffee and newspaper as Tenten returned to her book.

* * *

They had been on the train for several hours now and lunch would be served soon, so Neji glanced up from his newspaper with an internal, tired sigh in order to let his secretary know.

Tenten was looking out the window at the passing scenery with her chin cupped in her hand, the midday sun shining in her hair and casting slight shadows under her nose and bottom lip. Neji watched her silently for a few moments, considering her. She looked… unhappy.

Her ring glittered in the sun, and Neji frowned and returned to his paper.

Their waiter came by for their orders a few minutes later, and Neji was quick to order his meal. Much to his surprise, Tenten ordered a fine wine, and at his wryly amused look she grinned and told him, “I’m on company time, sir, I may as well make the most of it.”

He chuckled. “Ever the opportunist, Miss Tenten. The way things are going, we may not have the opportunity to order such beverages much longer, after all- scotch for me,” he told the waiter. He nodded briskly and went on to the next passengers.

Tenten sighed and put her chin back down in her hand, this time facing him. “This Temperance movement. Surely there’s better ways to end alcohol dependency than banning it entirely.”

“You see where they’re coming from,” Neji mused. “I have colleagues who are drinking any time I see them, no matter the occasion or time. It can hardly be healthy.”

“But can you see them simply rolling over and accepting it if alcohol sales and productions are banned altogether?”

“If they don’t have a choice, or access to alcohol, then certainly.”

She frowned and pursed her lips in thought. “I just can’t see people giving it up so easily.”

He gave her the slightest bit of a teasing look. “What would you suggest, then?”

She caught his tone and scowled at him, which made him grin, and snapped back, “Oh, I’d just give them some opium or cocaine instead, is all.”

He laughed aloud at her answer. “You do amuse me, Miss Tenten.”

“Do I?” She snapped back. The waiter came by and handed them their drinks, and Tenten immediately smoothed her expression over to thank him politely. Neji hid his smile at her contradictions with a drink of his whiskey.

They continued conversing over lunch, careful not to probe too far into one another’s personal life. The most intimate thing he knew about Tenten was that she was the fact she had spent her early childhood in China before immigrating with her parents- and now, he supposed he knew that she was engaged.

* * *

Rather than spending the night in the sleeper car, they would be staying at a hotel in a small city halfway between New York City and St. Louis, courtesy of the Hyuga company. Tenten, of course, had been the one to make the arrangements, but the man at the front desk had curled his lip at her when she went to collect their room keys.

She gave him a poisonously sweet smile and fetched Mr. Hyuga, who was all too happy to cancel their reservation, get the company’s money back, and speak politely with the hotel owner over how exactly their employee had cost them such a high-profile client.

They instead went to the hotel’s rival across the street, and Tenten once again approached the front desk to make arrangements. This time, fortunately for the hotel, the man was quite professional, and Tenten was able to make arrangements on her own without needing a wealthy male Hyuga to verify her actions- something that had happened all too often before.

It had become something of a habit for Tenten to only support businesses who were respectful to her, and Mr. Hyuga supported her easily. He’d told her once that in all likelihood, Hanabi would be inheriting the company once her father retired, so it was best to weed out sexist businesses now.

In any case, it meant that Tenten cheerfully exacted revenge on the many, many companies that treated her scornfully, with the full support and weight of her employer behind her. 

Mr. Hyuga advised her to be ready to leave at six o’clock the next morning, and they both retired to their rooms for the night.

* * *

Neji checked his pocket watch again with a frown- at this point, Tenten was running almost fifteen minutes late, which was quite odd. They would still be plenty early to the station, with enough time for breakfast at the cafe, but if she didn’t show up in the next five minutes he’d have to send a runner to fetch her.

Fortunately she came hurrying down the steps not too much later, looking a little on the frazzled side. 

“Sorry, sorry-”

“It’s fine, Miss Tenten, we have plenty of time; are you alright? You seem unsettled.”

“I’m fine,” she brushed him off, “Just not very put together this morning. Shall we, sir?”

They headed outside to where their taxi waited. Neji held the door for Tenten as the driver stowed their trunks- she gave him a half-rueful look- and they sat for a quiet drive to the train station.

Once they’d arrived, they stopped for breakfast at the cafe a block down, and Neji got a paper for the train- but he didn’t read it yet, just sipped his tea and watched all the people hurrying to and from the station. Tenten was quietly reading a book and taking small bites from her scone.

He glanced idly at the title, then tilted his head as it caught his interest. “‘ _La Vagabonde’_? Do you speak French, Miss Tenten?”

She looked up at him, a hint of surprise in her dark eyes. “I don’t speak it very well, sir, but I’m quite adept at reading and interpreting it.”

Pleasantly surprised, he smiled broadly at her. “You never mentioned that when we interviewed you. When did you learn it?”

“In my finishing school days. We had to take a language, and it was either French or Greek, so naturally I did my best to learn both.” She smirked, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at her defiant nature.

“Naturally.”

“I was much more adept at French, though I can interpret some Greek if I need to. Though I doubt I’ll ever be in the circumstances that require it.”

“No?” He arched his brow at her, a smirk tugging the corner of his mouth. “You’re not planning any travels to Greece?”

She let out an unladylike scoff that made the man at the next table frown sharply at her (they both ignored him). “With all due respect, sir, unless the company sends you there and you ask me to accompany you then I doubt I’ll ever set foot in the place.”

He smiled and sipped his tea. “Well, if I’m ever sent abroad, Miss Tenten, I’ll be sure to bring you along.”

Her own smile became slightly bitter. “Frankly, I’m not sure if the company will keep me that long, Mr. Hyuga. I’m to be married soon.”

Finally, they were addressing the unsaid problem. Neji tapped his fingers against the table top for several moments, then said, “You are are clever, efficient worker, Miss Tenten, whether you are married or not. I’ve no intentions to fire you.”

She blinked slowly at him. He continued, “So unless you choose to quit on your own volition, then your employment here will continue.”

Tenten continued to stare at him in silence, so he added, “If your husband-to-be wishes that you quit-”

The dark look that passed over her face cut the words from his throat. She muttered, “Sasuke wouldn’t _dare_.”

Neji’s stomach lurched. “Sasuke? As in Sasuke Uchiha? He’s your fiance?”

She looked somewhat uncomfortable. “Yes. It’s not- our mothers were friends, so…”

Neji just continued to stare at her, trying to process the odd hollow sensation in his chest. Sasuke was- a fine enough man, even if he and Neji didn’t get along professionally or personally. But the idea of him marrying Tenten seemed… off.

“Well,” he finally told his secretary, “Congratulations.”

She reached up and fiddled with her hair, looking withdrawn. “Thank you, Mr. Hyuga.” The easy camaraderie between them had dissipated again, and they sat in silence for the next ten minutes until it was time to go into the station.

* * *

Mr. Hyuga seemed deep in thought at the revelation that she was to marry Sasuke, and Tenten felt it was best to leave him undisturbed.

She didn’t know why it caused the reaction in her employer that it did. Perhaps it was because Sasuke was technically quite far above her in wealth and social class. It’d be like- well, it’d be as if she was engaged to marry Mr. Hyuga himself, such was the distance between their social statuses. 

Thinking about that particular example left a strange sensation in her stomach, so she pushed the thought away.

She sat and watched the scenery pass outside, much as she had done the day before, watching as the rolling hills of the Midwest turned into the bluffs and plateaus of Missouri. She’d hardly ever travelled outside New York, usually just accompanying Mr. Hyuga to the major cities in the nearby states. This was far more of the country than she’d ever seen before.

Across from her, Mr. Hyuga scanned the newspaper with mild interest. He reminded her of Sasuke, her fiance was always reading the paper- but no, she’d known Mr. Hyuga far longer than she had Sasuke, so perhaps it was Sasuke who reminded her of him. However, unlike Sasuke, who always yanked the paper up to cover his face while reading, Mr. Hyuga’s features were clearly visible over the top of the paper. Tenten found she much preferred it to Sasuke’s somewhat rude habit.

She ordered a cider with lunch today, though she was quite tempted for something a little stronger after the morning she’d had. Mr. Hyuga ordered his scotch again and sipped it idly as he penned out a few letters.

They ate lunch quietly. Tenten kept thinking of Sasuke and their upcoming wedding, though perhaps “upcoming” was a strong word to use. They’d made no plans since she’d received his final correspondence with his ‘proposal’ in it. 

The entire agreement was uncomfortable. Tenten bounced her foot up and down anxiously as she thought it over- Sasuke had found his mother’s quiet will with her wish that he wed her old friend’s daughter if he was a bachelor. He’d located the daughter- Tenten- and sent her a letter, saying that it was both their mothers’ wishes that they marry. Tenten had to hire her own lawyer to verify that what he said was true, and then wrote to Sasuke saying that she too was unmarried, and if he agreed to the wills then Tenten would concede as well.

Sasuke’s reply had been terse and as she learned, characteristic. _‘Since we are agreed, Miss Huang, I now formally ask that you marry me. Given that I know your answer, I think it will be best to meet in person after this point. I will be returning to Konoha in three weeks and I have your information, so expect me at ten o’clock in the morning on the ninth of March.’_

He hadn’t even added his signature on that one- and so it came to be that Tenten received the ring she now wore on her finger on the evening of the most uncomfortable birthday she’d ever had-

-God, it was so unbearably _hot_ in the coach car- Tenten shot to her feet and mumbled an excuse to a surprised and concerned Mr. Hyuga before quickly exiting to the observation car.

It was mercifully empty, and Tenten quickly strode to the end of the car and stopped, her hand clutching the top of the nearest seat and her spine rigid. 

She closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from gasping, inhaling for three breaths and exhaling for five. She tried her best to simply concentrate on the sensation of the wood under her hand and the sound of the train on the tracks-

-and the quiet noise of the door opening and closing. She spun to look, and her stomach sank at the sight of Mr. Hyuga coming towards her.

“Miss Tenten? Is everything all right?”

Tenten pivoted to face the front again, clutching the seat top. Woodenly, she said, “I’m fine, sir.”

“Miss Tenten,” he prompted quietly. 

Her grip was so tight it hurt. “I… I…”

He had been walking ever closer to her, and now he stood directly at her back. She could feel the warmth he was emitting and somehow, it eased her.

Her shoulders slumped, just the slightest amount. A soothing hand lightly settled over her back, just to the right of the base of her neck, and the words spilled out on her next exhale.

“I don’t want to get married.”

He was silent, behind her, but his hand remained a grounding weight against her shoulder.

“I… it’s what my mother wanted for me, but…”

She was silent, as the raw ache inside her- which she had been avoiding contemplating because it hurt, too much, and didn’t matter in her marriage plans- threatened to drive her to tears. “...I always thought I would be in love.”

His hand squeezed slightly over the back of her neck, but he did not speak. Tenten did not expect him to- this was a far, _far_ more personal conversation than they had ever had. 

Tenten allowed them to stand in silence for the next few moments, before stepping forward. Mr. Hyuga’s hand fell back to his side. 

She heaved a breath and turned to face him. “I apologize, sir, I-”

“No,” he told her immediately, his brow still lowered in concern, “I can only imagine how upsetting this is to you. Miss Tenten, please don’t think that you must solely be professional for the entire duration of this trip. No one can work all the time.”

Her mouth twitched. “You do, sir.”

His returning smile was rueful- she’d bullied him away from his desk many times when he intended to stay and work late. She’d stubbornly insisted on staying just as late as he did every night, and it’d become a highly effective method of getting him to go home on time. 

“Not since you’ve made your impact,” he told her. He stepped back one pace, and the world slowly righted itself. “Please join me back in our compartment when you’re ready.” He departed.

* * *

Neji stared out the window, seething. He’d thought that Tenten had seemed withdrawn over the idea of her upcoming marriage, but he had no idea that it was affecting her so much.

Tenten always presented herself so _carefully_ to him. Seeing her anguish so clearly, and knowing that Sasuke was inadvertently responsible, sent rage coursing through him. 

Neji’s grip on his scotch glass was so tight it almost hurt, and after several moments he put it down on the table top quite forcefully, then began writing a letter with brusque, angry strokes of his pen.

He didn’t bother with any sort of courtesy with his words, allowing his rage to shine through. The letter was completed with little thought on his part, and he quickly sealed it up and hid it away to send it later, out of Tenten’s sight.

She still wasn’t back, and he checked his watch as he debated over going to get her. She was clearly feeling rather vulnerable at the moment, and he’d like to give her as much time to herself as she needed, but the train would be pulling into the station in the next twenty minutes.

He decided he would give her another ten minutes alone in the observation car and did his best to focus once more on reading through his documents, but his mind kept drifting to the woman alone at the end of the train. 

Fortunately for his concentration, Tenten returned a few minutes later, looking as professional as always, and took her seat across from him once more.

(Her eyes looked a little red, and his heart squeezed.)

“We’ll be arriving in the next twenty minutes,” he told her, as conversationally as he could be, “And our cab will be waiting there to pick us up.”  


She nodded, her smile a little tremulous, and picked up her book once more.

* * *

She waited for Mr. Hyuga just outside the station, watching the rain fall. He was giving a few letters he had written on the train to a runner to have them sent, and the process was seemingly taking a long time.

He emerged from the station some time later, miraculously dry, and stopped at her side. “This rain is quite unpleasant; do you mind running for our cab?”  


“Not at all.” She picked up her bags in preparation and he mirrored her, then gave her a grin that was just a little roguish and said, “Three, two, one- go!”

They frantically ran out to where the taxi was waiting, throwing their suitcases in the trunk and ducking into the cab. Tenten found herself giggling as Mr. Hyuga collapsed into the seat next to her, running his hand through his wet hair with a look reminiscent of a wet cat.

He chuckled with her at the ridiculousness of the situation, watching with no small amount of amusement as she futilely attempted to ring some water out of her shirt. It got wrinkled and unpresentable, but no less wet, and she sulked.

Mr. Hyuga hid his laugh at her expense with a cough into his hand, but grinned widely at her when she scowled at him reproachfully. “Fortunately we have a few hours before our first meeting, so we’ll have plenty of time to settle in and get changed.”  


She sniffed imperiously. “Good.”

The taxi ride was quiet but quick, and before long Mr. Hyuga was carrying their bags into the hotel while she did her best to keep them both dry under his umbrella. The back of her coat and dress got quite wet, but it wasn’t as though she had been particularly dry anyway. 

She sloshed her way after him as he went up to the front desk, then shamelessly allowed her attention to drift as he began speaking with the concierge. She wondered what they would be covering in their meeting today- she knew it would be with the owners of the company hoping to sell them their machinery, but it was just going to be preliminary.

At the desk, Mr. Hyuga’s voice was rising. “-our arrangements were very clear, and you even have them written down here. I want to know how it is that you fumbled with this so thoroughly.”

Tenten frowned at the obvious anger in his voice and stepped closer to the desk. The concierge was looking more bored and annoyed than anything else, but had put a thin veneer of an apology on his face. 

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Hyuga, and we can get you another room by tonight, but at the moment only one is available.”

He pinched his brow, and Tenten darted her eyes between the pair of them as she tried to figure out what was going on.

“Sir? What happened?”

He turned to face her, scowling. “Only one of the rooms is ready.”

She glanced at his suit, the wet fabric clinging to him, and then at her own sopping attire. “...Ah.” 

The concierge piped up, “Sir, the room does have a lavatory with a door, so perhaps for now it will suffice.”

“Perhaps it will,” he drawled back. The man winced a little. 

Mr. Hyuga tapped his fingers along the desktop, very slowly, then turned to her. “Miss Tenten, I realize how uncomfortable the situation is, but for the time being do you mind…?”  


She dug her fingers into her palm- it _would_ be uncomfortable- but told him, “I’m sure it will be fine, sir. I trust you.”

* * *

Neji took the lavatory to get changed, trying not to think about his secretary in the next room. 

She told him that she trusted him, which was nice. He’d always hoped to come across to her in a positive way, especially given the power imbalance between them. Her trust was important, after all the time they’d spent together. 

He tucked his shirt into his trousers and then pulled on his waistcoat, buttoning it up and smoothing it over while frowning absently at himself in the mirror. He looped his tie over his neck and began tying it, thinking again of Tenten’s- _fiance_. His lip curled despite himself. 

Tenten had always been such a positive force of will, even when she was in one of her crankier moods. He hated seeing her so defeated, and from something so preventable and easily rectified- 

It was none of his business, he reminded himself. He reached for his suit coat, only to remember he’d left it in a different bag.

_Perfect_. 

He knocked cautiously on the door to the lavatory. “Tenten? Is it alright if I come out?”

“Yes.” Her returning call was a little distracted, and he saw why when he exited the lavatory as she carefully pinned her hair into place in front of the vanity.

It was a style that Hanabi would call “Gibson girl”, which Tenten had of course worn before- but he’d never seen her put it up, and the sight of it left him oddly flustered.

He hurriedly turned away and went over to his trunk- Tenten’s hair was much longer than he would have ever suspected, and had such rich color- and pulled out his suit coat. He put it on, his back to Tenten, and absently adjusted the cuffs.

When he turned around again she had finished with her hair and was applying a lip salve. This time Neji recognized the clenching in his gut- attraction.

* * *

Tenten followed Mr. Hyuga down the stairs, not at _all_ thinking about the way his shoulders had looked with just his undershirt and waistcoat on.

He seemed equally as awkward having seen her getting ready, so at least they were on equal footing. She still felt the ruffles of embarrassment that he had seen her pinning up her hair and putting on her lip salve, though- she’d always been completely put together when she’d seen him in any capacity, even on their trips, and it was off-putting to be seen getting ready in such a way. 

_Intimate_ , is what it was, and Tenten was only thankful that they wouldn’t be thrust into such circumstances again. Because they’d have another room ready for tonight.

They would be meeting with the company owners at the hotel’s restaurant, which promised to be very expensive and what Tenten liked to call “fake fancy”, where the meals were based on expensive ideas and ingredients but would taste… bad.

But the manufacturing company would want to impress the prestigious Hyuga, and that meant treating him to dinner at the most expensive place in town. (And treating his humble little secretary.)

They were a little early to the meeting, and if the owners knew what was good for them they would be even earlier. Sure enough, the waiter escorted them to a private room where three men in suits sat at a table, sipping at their drinks and muttering to one another. When they saw Mr. Hyuga, they all stood and hurried over to shake his hand. Amid the introductions, he was sure lightly touch her shoulder and say, “And this is my secretary, Miss Tenten. She’ll be taking notes for me later.”

Tenten shook the hand of the one man who offered it- one of the others just ignored her, and the other one smirked and called her ‘sweetheart’ somewhere in the middle of a generally condescending sentence- and sat when Mr. Hyuga pulled out her chair for her.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, gentlemen,” Mr. Hyuga said smoothly as he took his own seat. “The Hyuga Company is very interested in learning more about the machines you have been developing, and how we might introduce them to our manufacturing process.”

“We’re glad to hear that, Mr. Hyuga,” the condescending asshole said, much more polite to Mr. Hyuga. “We think that our machinery could be a great help- even revolutionary. Now, where’s that waiter- care for a drink?”

“Certainly,” Mr. Hyuga replied. “Miss Tenten?”

“Water for me, sir,” she said. She’d have loved a wine, but it was best to refrain in this scenario.

The waiter came scurrying over and took their drinks and dinner orders- all of the manufacturing company’s owners ordered some sort of steak, while Mr. Hyuga ordered salmon and herself the chicken- and the gentlemen fell into light conversation about the city, which Tenten knew she should refrain from joining.

The man who had ignored her earlier was now staring at her while she ate, watching her mouth and smirking. Tenten continued eating as calmly as she could, her temper rising ever higher. Her grip on her silverware was tight, and she knew that if he said anything, one _single_ word, she’d sink her knife into his hand.

There was a slight warmth against her leg as Mr. Hyuga moved slightly, sipping his scotch and staring at the man. His voice was decidedly cold when he asked, “Is your meal all right, Mr. Traver? You’ve hardly touched it.”

Tenten relaxed minutely when the man’s attention was yanked off of her to Mr. Hyuga, who looked as if the man could end this meeting for his companions with a single wrong word.

He swallowed. “No, no- everything is fine.”

“Good,” Mr. Hyuga replied, his voice an aristocratic drawl. “I’d hate this dinner to go poorly.” His leg brushed gently against Tenten’s once more, a simple reassurance, and she ducked her chin to hide her smile.

The atmosphere of the meeting was a little more tense after that, as the other men realized they’d have to actually respect the woman secretary if they wanted any sort of deal carrying through. Tenten just sat and quietly ate her dessert- a lovely little chocolate cake, which was by far the most pleasant part of the dinner.

Mr. Hyuga would be joining the men in the smoking parlor, so Tenten returned to the front desk to inquire about the other room before turning in for the evening. It still wasn’t ready.

She pinched her brow in irritation- which in retrospect was a tick of Mr. Hyuga’s that she’d picked up- then engaged in a polite argument with the concierge until he promised that they would have temporary accomodations at the very least. 

It was ridiculous. She’d made these reservations almost two weeks ago and they _still_ weren’t prepared. Tenten made no small effort telling him off, and finally he snapped at her, “Ma’am, I understand you booked two rooms, but I simply don’t see why you can’t just share with your husband for the time being.” He nodded pointedly to her ring.

Tenten felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her. She went pale, she knew she did, and the only thing she could say was a stifled, “My-!”

She pivoted and hurried back to the room, his words ringing in her ears. Did he think- he thought that she and Mr. Hyuga were man and wife? Of all the things-

There were so many things _wrong_ with that presumption. First of all, why would a married couple have _two_ rooms? Wouldn’t they share one, and sleep in the same bed? Perhaps an older couple would have greater differences and want their own rooms, but she and Mr. Hyuga were quite young, almost as if they were newlyweds, which meant they’d want a shared room for lovemaking-

The second the thought struck her she stopped short in the hallway, her face _crimson_. 

How the _hell_ had she managed to stumble upon that particular thought? She and Mr. Hyuga, doing- that? 

She continued walking, even faster than before. Of all the things she could have reflected on! Now she’d be embarrassed for the rest of the night, even if it was just with herself alone in her room-

_Lord_. The room. They still only had the one, and she’d need to notify Mr. Hyuga. After a drink and a change out of her heavy coat.

She made her way down to the smoking parlor some time later, wearing a lighter evening gown, and smiled sweetly up at the doorman. He frowned down at her, clearly wondering why she was there. “Pardon me, sir, my employer is inside and I need to drop off a quick message?”

New lesson learned- being sweet and innocent could go surprisingly far with the right man. Tenten batted her eyelashes at the doorman as she trotted past him.

Once inside, she paused half a moment to take stock of her surroundings before spotting the group of men in the corner. She started towards them confidently- but then she caught a good look at Mr. Hyuga’s face mid-laugh, and abruptly remembered the scandalous thought she’d had about him mere minutes earlier.

She almost lost her nerve, but he looked up and saw her and thus she lost any opportunity to turn away. She pressed on.

He grinned broadly at her as she approached. “Miss Tenten.”

She smiled back. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but if you don’t mind a quick private word?”

“Not at all.” He stood and put down his mostly-unsmoked cigar, then buttoned his coat. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, gentlemen.” He guided her away with a light hand between her shoulder blades.

Once they were far enough away not to be a disturbance, she told him, “We still only have one room prepared, and though I’ve been assured that we will have _some_ other one by tonight, I’m quite sure it won’t be the one we originally booked.”

He frowned, staring at her, but did not respond for several long seconds. Just when she was about to prompt him, he blinked hard in succession and said, “Right. We’ll have to make sure to get the company’s money back, but for now why don’t you take the room and I can follow through with the front desk later?”

She opened her mouth, about to protest, and he cupped her elbow in his hand. “Really. I’m quite certain these gentlemen will be up for much longer and demand my company, and I’m sure you’re tired. Go on to bed, and I’ll see you again in the morning.”

She frowned up at him, thinking hard, then relented. “Fine. Good night, sir.”

He looked pleased with her agreement. “Excellent- that’s an exquisite gown, by the way, you look lovely. Good night.” 

He walked back over to his table before she could formulate a response, but she half-glanced down at her dress- a light blue, floaty affair- and her cheeks went pink.

She hurried back to the room, and though she was embarrassed by it, spent a few minutes in front of the mirror, staring at the dress (and how she looked in it.)

She- she _wasn’t_ vain, had never been vain, but the compliment continued slowly revolving in her mind and made her cheeks pink and her heart pound just a little harder.

Abruptly she snapped away from the mirror and began preparing for bed, washing her face and brushing out her hair before changing into her sleeping clothes. She turned out the lights and settled into the bed, the compliment- forever said in Mr. Hyuga’s quiet baritone- still murmuring in the back of her mind.

It wasn’t the compliment, she realized drowsily, on the cusp of sleep. It was the fact it came from Mr. Hyuga.

* * *

Neji found he was rather less talkative after Tenten had departed for the night, instead falling silent and listening to his companions talk while quietly reminiscing about the way she had looked in that gown.

This was becoming a problem, he realized dully. All through that damned dinner, he’d only been able to think about this blasted attraction he had towards her, and now she was stuck in his thoughts. 

He flicked some ash off the end of his cigar, his lip curling just a little with self-disgust. She deserved better than the projections of her employer.

He tried to comfort himself by acknowledging that his attraction was based in respect for Tenten, as it was a recent development after years of getting to know her. He took a long drag, staring out the window at the lights below.

“Well, we’d best be turning in soon,” Traver said with finality. Neji fought to keep the look of intense dislike off his face. He could barely stand to sit in the same room as the man after his treatment of Tenten. “See you tomorrow, then, Mr. Hyuga.”

He stood and reached out to shake Neji’s hand, which he did with an internal glare. Mr. McDugal and Mr. Graham’s hands he shook with much more ease, then the three of them departed.

Neji sat and finished off his scotch, drinking slowly, then stood and strolled down the stairs to the front desk.

The man who was working there was the same person he’d talked to earlier, and when he saw Neji approaching he looked decidedly nervous. 

Neji stopped in front of the counter. “I imagine you know why I’m here.”

“Yes, sir.” He stared up at Neji for a few moments, then winced and muttered, “I’m going to fetch the manager, sir, he’ll explain.”

“How promising,” Neji said darkly. The man scurried off.

Fifteen minutes later and Neji found himself with a full refund that did nothing to soothe the knowledge that the hotel had overbooked its guests, assumed that Tenten was _his wife_ , and then decided they would likely be comfortable sharing a room.

He had to take another long smoke break after that, dreading going up to the room where Tenten was sleeping to tell her what happened. 

_Lord_. They would have to share a room for who knew how long. What on earth was he going to say? ‘Tenten, you’ll be forced to share quarters for the next three days with me, your employer, and right after I’ve realized how enchanting I find you.’

Even inwardly, he flinched at the words. He’d spent so much time reflecting on Tenten this evening that she’d gone from being attractive to being _enchanting_.

But it was true, and in retrospect had always been true. Tenten provided a lightness and sense of freedom to his empty, caged life. He’d been drawn to her since he’d met her, first out of a form of friendship, and now… now-

He flicked out his cigarette and began the walk upstairs to their room.

* * *

Tenten was roused by the knocking on the door and hastily spilled from the bed, wondering what on earth could be going on at this hour- it was nearly two o’clock in the morning. She threw on her robe over her pajamas and tied it haphazardly, then yanked open the door, a defiant screech ready on her lips.

The sound died in the back of her throat when she saw Mr. Hyuga at the door, looking tired and unhappy. “I apologize for disturbing you, Tenten,” his eyes flicked over her robe and unbound hair. “But it seems that the hotel has made quite an error, and we only have the one room.”

She stared up at him for several long beats before his words sank in entirely. “Then- then what are we supposed to do?”

His mouth shifted into a grimace. “Well, that’s the worst part of it, really, because I’ve been told no other rooms will be open for the remainder of our stay.”

He reached up and pinched his brow. “But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so it may be better if you remain in the room and I-”

She grabbed his arm and told him, “Sir, I’m not going to make you find somewhere else like that.”

“But-”

“We’ll figure it out,” she told him firmly, and pulled him into the room. She closed the door behind them and turned to look at him, realizing a little too late that the room was completely dark except for the lights glimmering through the window.

His eyes and forehead were cast into shadow, but she could see his cheekbones, nose, and mouth in the soft light. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, and Tenten watched the motion, fascinated.

“Well-” He began, and fell silent again. Tenten was suddenly aware that she was in her silk nightgown for sleeping that night, and couldn’t decide if she was disappointed or fervently glad that she was wearing her robe on top of it.

It was a shameful thought, but she was viewing him through different eyes lately and- and she wanted him to see her the same way.

He was her employer, but he was respectful and kind and he made her feel like she was clever and witty, with how often he laughed around her. And he was handsome- she’d only ever let herself notice it sparingly, but the first time she’d seen him, her heart had lodged in her throat.

So she wanted him to just look at her once, and find her beautiful, and she wanted to see it reflected in his face. And then she’d go back to her unhappy engagement and disinterested fiance.

Tenten picked back up with the conversation. “Sir, I can set up on the floor if-”

“No,” he said flatly. “I’m not letting you sleep on the floor. Take the bed, and I can take the floor-”

“You’re my employer, you can’t sleep on the floor!”

“Well, I’m not allowing _you_ to sleep on the floor.”

She sputtered. “You- you can’t _stop_ me!”

Unexpectedly, he smirked. 

Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you-”  


She shrieked as he suddenly hoisted her up by her waist, took a few steps, and then tossed her- _tossed her_ \- onto the bed. She landed, bounced once, and whipped upright to glare at him.

He was plainly trying not to laugh, and doing a poor job of it. In retaliation, she grabbed the fabric of his waistcoat and firmly yanked him down next to her.

He landed a few feet from her with an _oomph_ , looking surprised. She snickered at him, and he threw his hands in the air. “I suppose you got me back, then. But this doesn’t solve our problem.”

“Sure it does,” she told him. She indicated the space between them. “There’s plenty of room, sir, and we have extra pillows so we can put up some sort of barrier and… and-”

She couldn’t actually get the words out, despite her strong start. Mr. Hyuga was blushing a little, himself, but he finished for her. “Ah… share the bed?”

She nodded, fighting her own flush. “Y-yes. I know- it’s hardly conventional, or proper, but I- I think it’s our best option.”

He turned a fetching pink, but nodded. “I- well, I agree. I’ll go get ready for bed, if you would set up the- ah, barricade?”

Some of the ridiculousness of the situation caught up to her, and she giggled. “Right.”

He gave her a soft smile that looked almost tender in the muted lighting, then went over to the lavatory with his suitcase.

She stared after him, a little lovestruck- no, no, no, not love- admiration, perhaps- then grabbed extra pillows and formed them into a barrier going down the middle of the bed.

After that, she dithered. Did she wait up for him, say goodnight? Or should she hurry out of her robe and be under the covers before he came in?

The latter, she decided, and strode over to the spot where she’d hung up her robe before, then untied it with efficient movements. She hung it up, her nightgown swishing around her calves, then turned and started walking back towards the bed. She was two feet from it when the lavatory door swung open and Mr. Hyuga took half a step out, spotted her, and froze.

She did as well, and they stared at each other for several long moments before he coughed and looked away again. Tenten nearly threw herself into the bed and under the covers. 

He set down his suitcase again, then crossed over to the bed. He hesitated for several long moments, then pulled aside the covers and slipped in next to her.

She paused uncertainly for a few moments, then murmured, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Tenten,” he echoed. His voice, pitched low, rumbled out of his chest, and she nearly shivered hearing him speak her name in such a way.

_Enough_ , she told herself firmly, and closed her eyes to sleep.

* * *

Neji woke up slowly, wondering why he felt so hot, then remembered the woman in his bed.

He turned slowly to look at her. She was still asleep on the other side of the pillow barricade, rolled to her side and facing him, and he took the opportunity to gaze at her unguarded.

Her expression was relaxed and soft, her brow untroubled for what felt like the first time in weeks. He stared at the way her eyelashes cast soft shadows over her cheeks, watched the movement of her lips as she breathed.

She stirred slightly, rolling a little more onto her back, and the covers shifted. Neji was abruptly reminded of the silken nightgown she was wearing, and his throat went dry.

He’d been struck dumb at the sight of her in it last night, and it seemed today was much the same- but he quickly turned away, and got carefully out of bed so as not to disturb her. 

He ducked into the bathroom and washed his face, then changed into his shirt and trousers. He rubbed his face with a grimace- a shave was in order, so he’d have to grab his razor and brush from his bag in the next room.

He rifled through his bag as quietly as he could- Tenten hadn’t stirred from the bed yet- then returned to the bathroom and started lathering up his face. 

He’d always found shaving to be rather meditative, and he took his time running his straight razor over his skin and flicking away the foam into the basin. Once he was finished, he leaned over and towelled off, then straightened back up and met Tenten’s gaze dead-on in the mirror.

She was watching him sleepily from the bed, blinking rapidly as she woke herself up. She seemed to realize she was staring a few moments later and looked embarrassed as she turned away. 

He smiled, amused, and started backing his shaving equipment away. “Good morning, Tenten.”

“Yes,” she agreed, which only widened his smile. He put on his waistcoat, then grabbed his suit coat. “I’m off for breakfast with the company owners, and then we’ll be going to a demonstration of their machinery. Would you like to eat with us, or shall I fetch you after?”

She reflected on it a moment, then said, “I’ll order room service here, sir, if that’s all right.”

“Of course.” He began walking towards the door, careful not to look over at the slight stretch of leg he could see uncovered. “I’ll send a runner once we’re almost finished, then meet you in the lobby. Until then, Tenten.” 

“Yes, sir.” He closed the door firmly behind him and headed down the stairs.

* * *

Tenten stared at the closed door, wondering over how Mr. Hyuga had looked while he was shaving- plain shirt, tucked in, his shoulders tightening and falling as he bent to rinse, the surety of his movements as he drew the blade over his skin-

She threw the duvet up over her head. What was _happening_ to her? She allowed herself to consider him, _once_ , as he was as a man, and now she couldn’t keep her gaze away.

And she _liked_ it. She liked the feelings that admiring him gave her, the butterflies in her stomach, the curl of attraction in her gut, the rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps it was because she knew that he was unapproachable- he was her employer, as close as they were, and she was in an arranged engagement. He was a safe target, and projecting these feelings onto him wouldn’t amount to anything.

She dressed in her business attire as normal, but spent a little longer applying some powder and a little eyelash darkener before calling down to the front desk and ordering herself some breakfast.

She ate on the tiny balcony, watching the street below as people hurried to nowhere. Some late-morning slowly made its way out from behind the clouds and hit the front of the building, and she turned her head up to bask in it.

She heard a few men talking loudly from the street below and looked down to see. Much to her surprise, it was Mr. Hyuga and the three company owners. The other three gentlemen were talking boisterously to one another and gesturing wildly with their hands, but much to Tenten’s surprise (and slight pleasure) Mr. Hyuga was looking up at her, a slight smile on his face.

She waved, and he grinned back.

She went back inside to fetch her bag, then hurried down to the lobby to meet them. Mr. Condescending gave her a patronizing smile and said, “Ah, at last the little lady is joining us!”

His younger companion- McDugal, he was the only one whose name she had bothered to learn- gave her a half grimace as he shook her hand again. She was pleased to see the other man was still nervous to even look at her.

Mr. Hyuga offered her his arm, and she took it with a smile (and a swoop to her stomach). McDugal and his companions had two cars and drivers waiting for them, and the three owners loaded into one car and sent the two of them along in the other.

Tenten was sure it was a tactic to sway them further into the negotiations, but she enjoyed the car ride nonetheless. The driver had the top down, and the wind on her face was almost thrilling. 

Her hair was askew by the time Mr. Hyuga helped her out of the car again, but she just put her hat on and decided not to worry about it.

Mr. Hyuga was in just as high of spirits as she was, his expression relaxed as he guided her into the building with a light hand on the small of her back. He greeted the owners with a genuine smile, as opposed to his usual professional greeting. They were similar, yes- Mr. Hyuga could be rather stoic- but Tenten knew the difference by now. 

The owners turned the presentation over to the engineers, and they were given a brief tour of the lab facilities. Mr. Hyuga offered her his arm again, and she took it with an internal gleeful cackle.

Of course, he was just being polite, and for him it was merely a formality. 

But she’d savor it, even if he didn’t.

* * *

Neji only hoped that Tenten couldn’t feel his heart pounding as her hand curled delicately over the crook of his arm.

She had placed her other hand on top of her fingers so she was nearly clinging to him, and he could imagine that they looked almost like a couple.

They were dangerous thoughts, but he could smell her perfume and remembered what she’d looked like up on that balcony, happiness on her face as she turned to bask in the sun-

And her entire face had lit up when she had seen him below. He only hoped that she hadn’t spotted the adoration on his face at the sight of her.

After a certain point, Tenten was taking notes on the speakers, which meant she no longer was holding his arm- but she was diligently at his side for their entire tour, and almost (perhaps he was imagining it) leaned back against his hand when he put it on the small of her back to guide her around.

And he’d always known she was smart- she wouldn’t have been hired if she wasn’t smart- but she thoroughly impressed him with how easily she followed the engineer’s explanations on how their machinery specifically worked, and how it would aid the growth of the Hyuga factories in its mixing and combining process.

She asked insightful questions that pleased the head engineer so much that he was almost visibly disappointed when he saw the band around her finger.

When Neji remembered it himself, it felt as though he’d been doused in ice water. Tenten was engaged.

He went through the meeting in a much more sour mood after that, only half paying attention to the technical explanations- he didn’t have the education to understand most of it any way. Tenten was engaged, Tenten was engaged, Tenten was _engaged_ -

He shook McDugal’s, Graham’s, and Traver’s hand with intentions to meet for a business meeting the next day, then he and Tenten used the company’s cars to get back to their hotel.

Neji helped Tenten out of the car almost robotically and strode towards the lobby, mind spinning around Sasuke, and Tenten, and the two of them, as a couple-

Tenten’s hand on his back stopped him short in his tracks, just on the edge of the light spilling from the streetlamp. “Sir,” she asked, dark eyes wide with concern, “Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” he said.

“No, it’s not. You’re upset about something, what is it?”

He examined her slowly, her heart-shaped face, the spread of her lashes and the barely-there unladylike freckles spilling across her nose and cheekbones, the part of her lips-

And he had made a mistake looking, because he dipped his head and kissed her.

* * *

It… it was…

Tenten didn’t know, for several long seconds, how she felt.

His mouth against hers was… nice. Pleasant, even. 

She leaned in, to double check, and then he tilted his head slightly and suddenly she was _breathless_.

She reached up and clutched at the fabric over his chest, clinging to him as his mouth moved over hers. She was- _dizzy-_

He put a careful arm around her waist, not pulling her closer, just… embracing her, cradling her to him, and the sensation of his kiss made her knees weaken-

Someone cleared their throat loudly next to them, and they jerked apart. The police man who was looking at them seemed very unamused. At their horrified expressions, he smiled smugly and puffed, “Move it along, then!”

He kept walking, seemingly sure they would break apart. 

Tenten slowly raised her head to meet Mr. Hyuga’s wide-eyed gaze. After a few beats, she whispered to herself, “Oh, no.”

* * *

Neji paced restlessly inside the smoking parlor- largely empty, he’d made sure- and fretted.

Tenten had pulled away from him with dread in her eyes and walked stiffly up to their room, where she’d told him she was going to get changed before meeting him in the hotel restaurant for dinner.

She clearly needed some time to herself, so he’d accepted and gone to the parlor to wait, and wear a hole in the carpet with his worried pacing.

How could he have _done_ that? To take such an action towards his employee, a young woman with no guardian and no real way of protecting herself from any unwanted advances?

Not that- not that his advances were unwanted, exactly, if the way she had clung to him and the soft noises she had made were any indication-

But it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. He stopped short, rubbing the bridge of his nose in agitation, then pivoted to walk to the restaurant. Tenten would nearly be ready soon, and they could talk.

He waited just inside the main doors, glaring out at the other guests, when he heard Tenten say behind him, “Mr. Hyuga.”

“Tenten,” he greeted back, turning to look at her. His mouth went a little dry. 

She was wearing a muted red dress that was certainly less risque than many other things he’d seen women wearing, but it wasn’t a color he’d ever seen her wearing and it called to him. She’d arranged up her hair in a new, elegant style, and lined her eyes just the slightest amount.

The only thing he could think of to do was offer her his arm, and much to his relief she took it with no hesitation, and even smiled up at him.

They were seated in a quiet corner of the room, which meant that they had plenty of privacy to talk. Neji immediately had no idea what to say.

They ordered drinks and then sat drinking them in silence, pretending to read the menus while sneaking glances at one another. Finally Neji put his glass down and said, “I owe you an apology.”

She didn’t look up from where she’d been reading the same line for a minute straight. “What for?”

“I shouldn’t have… kissed you.”

“Why not?” She looked up and met his eyes, this time looking almost defiant.

Taken aback, he replied, “It was highly inappropriate.”

“Felt pretty good to me,” she said shortly. He flushed.

“I- it did?”

“Yes.” She swallowed a large gulp of wine and said, “I wanted you to.”

“Oh.” He tried not to grin at her- she wanted him to kiss her- and forced himself back towards professionalism. “But I am still your employer, and my behavior was-”

She put her glass down with a _thump_. “Professionally speaking, men shouldn’t kiss their secretaries.” He winced. “But personally speaking, I care for you quite a bit, and I did not feel as though you were taking any sort of advantage of me.”

His heart was beating very fast. “You… care for me?”

“I’d like to dance,” she said suddenly, her eyes burning into his. The band had just struck up a waltz. 

He stood and offered her his hand, then led her out to the dance floor with the other couples. They arranged themselves for the dance, and after a moment Neji slid his hand just a little closer to the small of her back than any platonic dance partner would do.

Tenten turned her cheek to rest against his shoulder in response, her hand squeezing his. She wasn’t wearing her ring, he realized suddenly, and he had no idea what to think.

He directed them towards the edge of the dance floor, closer to the more intimately shadowed areas of the room. She pressed closer against him, closed her eyes, and once more with hesitance he lowered his head to rest on hers.

She let out a soft noise but said nothing, so he allowed himself to hold the position as the dance continued. She smelled of vanilla, he realized, and his heart ached.

Tenten stirred a few minutes later, and he lifted his head so she could move from his shoulder. Much to his shock, she leaned up and kissed him- once, softly, just a few seconds- and then placed her head against his shoulder once again.

He nearly faltered in his steps but managed to keep them revolving slowly, wondering over her actions. A few moments later she laughed quietly and said, “Your heartbeat just skyrocketed.”

He flushed.

* * *

Tenten directed her smile down towards her plate rather than at Mr. Hyuga, not willing to show him how endearing she found his current awkwardness. 

She’d had time to think alone, after that first kiss, and it had grounded her. She wanted Mr. Hyuga- she wanted _Neji_ \- in whatever capacity he would have her, and would make it clear from then on.

And she thought that what he felt for her ran just as deep. He was just caught up in the part where he was technically her employer- but he was also one of her best friends, and he steadied her in her darker moments.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the spot where her ring had been. It was the only trepidation she had about becoming romantic with Neji- not that she was afraid of hurting Sasuke, she rather thought he wouldn’t care all that much- but because her mother had only ever wanted _one_ thing from her, and Tenten couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t take any more of the silence between them- Neji was still walking around looking faintly bewildered- so she looked up at him and said, “So, will the Hyuga company be accepting the new machinery as part of their industrial process?”

He blinked slowly. “I think so. I’ll have to send my- well, really, they’re _your_ notes to the main offices, but from what I understood they could be an excellent addition.” He took a bite of his chicken, looking more at ease at the talk of business, then looked at her again. “You seemed to follow along with their explanations quite well.”

“Yes.” A little nervous, she confessed to him, “I’d wanted to be an engineer for a long time when I was growing up, but- they don’t let girls do things like that.”

He nodded slowly, then reached his hand across the table to grasp hers. “You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” he told her, completely serious. She ducked her chin.

“I mean it,” he pressed. “You speak multiple languages, you have the knowledge and understanding to be an engineer, you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had-”

“You’ve only had two and one was just your cousin getting trained, by me I might add-”

“And you’re witty and learn quickly-”

“I’m already half in love with you, there’s no need to flatter me,” she told him. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip in regret after she said it, but she’d made up her mind. She was being honest.

He looked- overjoyed. “I love you,” he said, the words spilling from his lips so fast she almost couldn’t understand him.

She ducked her head to hide her smile again, but he cupped her jaw in his hand and lifted her gaze to meet his again.

They stared at each other for several long moments, before Tenten told him, “I’d like to dance.”

* * *

It was a spot meant for furtive couples- which is what they were, in a way, but they were also just sitting and talking quietly, their heads close together and their hands entwined in Neji’s lap.

After their second dance, they’d split the chocolate cake that Tenten had liked so much for dessert, then danced again, and again, until she’d murmured about tired feet and led him out into the gardens.

They’d been deep in conversation ever since, talking about their childhoods and schoolwork, their old friends and hobbies, and anything else they could think of. He wanted to know _everything_ about her that had been an off-limits topic before.

He was careful around the topic of her mother and her engagement, but she surprised him with her candidness.

“It’s all she ever wanted for me, I think,” she whispered, staring across the manicured lawn to the fountain. “She thought that marriage would be the best security I could have, and so she took the steps to make sure it would happen for me. I’m sure Mikoto Uchiha was just as thrilled to have a ready-made bride for her son.”

He thought of Sasuke and unintentionally clenched her hands tighter in his. She turned to look at him, looking trepidatious.

“She wanted you to be happy,” he murmured, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. She nodded and looked back over the garden. 

“I’m not marrying Sasuke,” she whispered to herself with finality. It was a statement that was meant for herself, but he was still glad to hear it. He kissed her hand.

She gave him a soft look, and the conversation moved on.

Every so often, one of them- usually Tenten- would lean in and kiss the other, derailing the conversation for a few seconds. Well, at first it had been seconds, but the later kisses wound up stretching more into the ‘minutes’ end of the spectrum.

He had to pull away for a few moments to catch his breath back and Tenten immediately leaned forward to bury her face against his neck. 

He shivered, then groaned as she started pressing open-mouthed kisses up and down his skin, separating one of her hands from his so she could slide her fingers up into the hair at the nape of his neck and scratch her nails against his scalp.

It was too much and not enough at the same time, and he gasped into her hair, “You’re insatiable.”

“Try me,” she whispered back, and sealed her mouth over his again.

* * *

Tenten woke up slowly, a pleasant warmth and support at her back. She turned her head to look at Neji, sleeping peacefully on his back just behind her. 

They’d done away with the pillow barrier of the night before in favor of unhindered contact- though Neji had seemed quite adamant about said contact falling only into the realm of kissing.

She was still a little pouty about it- she’d wanted to get his shirt off, at the very least, and maybe hers as well. 

She’d taken comfort in drawing her hands over those shoulders she’d admired so much, digging her fingers in slightly and savoring his ragged gasps. Their move from the garden to their room was marked by a significant increase in intensity, and she’d dared to slide her hands under his shirt to rest over his back. And she’d raked her nails down his back, a little.

He was just so _sensitive_ to everything she did. It was fun.

He’d eventually persuaded her to go to bed, so they’d changed into their sleepwear- separately- and then gotten into bed. It only took about five minutes of Neji running his hand through her hair as she rested her head against his shoulder for her to fall asleep.

So now she had a decision- did she wake him up, or just stare at him for a while?

She chose to stare at him, admiring the aristocratic arch of his features in the morning light. He was handsome.

She finally sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed to get up, but a casual arm looped around her waist and brought her back to Neji’s side, sending her spiralling into giggles. 

He buried his face into the crook of her neck and muttered, “Stay in bed.”

“I have to get dressed,” she protested weakly. “We’re meeting with the owners at twelve o’clock for lunch.”

“So? That’s hours from now.” He kissed her neck. “We’ll order room service for breakfast in a little while and eat on the balcony.”

“We’ll need to dress for that, you know.”

“Ten minutes,” Neji murmured, and suddenly flipped her over onto her back.

* * *

They were eating breakfast on the balcony half an hour later, fully dressed and in _very_ good moods. They sat with their chairs pulled close together and their heads bent towards one another, talking in low voices and watching the people below.

Tenten leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, listening to the bustle from the street. Neji put his arm around her waist and sipped his tea with a small smile on his face.

They needed to leave soon, so he got her attention by dipping his head down to kiss her. He could feel her lips curling into a smile, and she settled her hand on his jaw.

He pulled away and murmured, “We’d best be off.”

“Blah,” she muttered, and pulled him in for another few kisses before she consented to leaving.

They met at the company headquarters that day, and he as Tenten took her seat he turned, still standing, to address the trepidatious-looking owners. “Well, gentlemen, the Hyuga Company is interested in adapting your machinery for our factories.”

There was a chorus of excited chatter. Tenten pulled out her notebook and pen, then glanced up at him to show she was ready. He gave her a slight smile and turned to the owners. “Shall we discuss particulars, so I may send information to the board and head of the company?”

They worked their way through the first draft of a contract for the next hour, with Tenten diligently writing everything down. Once they had a version they all approved of- subject to revision by the Hyuga Company board of directors- Tenten typed both parties up a copy on the typewriter available and handed them out.

“Thank you very much, gentlemen,” Neji told them, accepting his copy from Tenten with an extra brush of his fingers. “I look forward to corresponding with you more in the future as partners.” It was true for McDugal, at least.

They all stood and shook hands with him, and McDugal offered Tenten a handshake too, as his co-owners gathered their things and ignored her (and frankly, if they couldn’t be courteous then Neji was glad they left well enough alone.)

They had wrapped things up a day early, Neji was surprised to note as he and Tenten walked back to the outside of the building, and their train tickets weren’t until the day after next. He watched as Tenten descended the steps to the cab, eyeing her hips absently before remembering himself.

They’d find something to do, he was sure of it.

He took his seat next to Tenten in the car, and the driver started heading back to their hotel. Tenten turned to him and said, “I’m starved; can we go to lunch?”

“Of course,” he replied. “Have you any place you’d like to go?”

She hummed, tilting her head in thought. “We should ask the concierge.”

“Yes,” he said conversationally, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, “We _have_ had a great deal of success with him.”

She laughed. “If you have any better ideas-”

“None whatsoever.”

“Let’s ask, then!”

“Mm…” She laughed again at his affected doubt, and he couldn’t help smiling at the noise- and knowing he was the cause of it.

“Well, _I’m_ going to ask, and you can just tag along then.” She put her chin on his shoulder and grinned up at him.

“Fine,” he told her, and kissed her nose. 

* * *

Being in a reciprocated love was nice, Tenten thought.

After lunch, she and Neji had gone to the Saint Louis Art Museum and slowly walked through the exhibits, discussing them, and then Tenten had been so invested in some of them that she insisted they go to a library and read more. 

They’d had a wonderful afternoon, all in all, and walked back to the hotel at a leisurely stroll. 

“We have another day,” Neji said, escorting her over a puddle, “So is there anything else you’d like to do while we’re here?”

“I don’t know the city very well,” she replied, tucking herself back against his side. “We could ask-”

“The concierge,” he finished for her, to her tinkling laughter. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you fancy him, my dear.”

“He’s not quite my type, I don’t think,” she said. She bumped her hip gently against his. 

Tenten went to their room to change while Neji got some information from the (very grudging) concierge. After a moment of thought, she grabbed the airy, summery blue dress she’d worn earlier- the one Neji had called her _lovely_ in, and took off her current gray blouse to begin changing.

The door opened suddenly, and she whirled, protectively holding her discarded blouse over her brassiere and torso. Neji stood in the doorway, gaping at her, one hand still on the handle. 

The only thing she could think of to say was, “For heaven’s sake, get in and close the door!”

He did, face burning, and turned to face it as he latched it. “I- I apologize, I should have knocked-”

“Yes, you should have!”

“I- yes, I know, I apologize-”

“Turn around,” she demanded. He did so, eyes sealed shut.

She cast her blouse aside, baring herself in only her brassiere and skirt. “Look at me.”

His eyes flickered, then opened.

She stared into them, memorizing their color and the way they looked upon her. He was beautiful, and he loved her.

“Kiss me,” she said, and he did.

(Many hours later, she whispered into the dark, “Oh, we never had dinner.” 

Neji stirred at her side, rolling over and fumbling with something on the nightstand. She saw his hand raise, holding a pocket watch, and he held it up to the dim light from the window. 

“It’s nearly eleven o’clock,” he rumbled. “We’ll have to just wait until breakfast.” He set the watch aside and rolled back over, and once more she settled her arm across his bare waist.

He slid their hands together, playing with her fingers a little, and she tangled her legs with his. After a moment, she mused, “I didn’t realize lovemaking can take so long.”

Neji sputtered.

“Not that it wasn’t nice,”she added, grinning.

“‘ _Nice’?_ ”

“I said what I said,” she told him. He muttered to himself for a few moments, then said huffily, “We’ll practice more tomorrow, then.”

“Deal.” She kissed his jaw.)

* * *

After a day spent meandering around the botanical garden, then their early evening spent once more in the library to do further research (he _adored_ her), they dressed in the finest clothes they had packed and went for dinner and dancing at the Mayfair.

Tenten was a wonderful dancer, light on her feet and giddy with the music. Neji normally disliked dancing, but with her as his partner he found it exhilarating. He’d learned quite a few dances as part of his upbringing, but they were all formal and stately- nothing like the instructions Tenten was whispering in his ear that echoed the steps of the younger couples around them.

She was so close to him, just a few breaths away from pressing the front of her body against his. If her tight, shifting grip on his shoulder was any indication, she was just as aware of it as he was, and enjoying it.

It was nearly midnight by the time they returned to the hotel- and their train left at eight-thirty in the morning the following day, so they wouldn’t be able to sleep as much- but that didn’t stop Tenten from pressing insistently against him and telling him to undress her.

When she was resting against him later, nose tucked against his collarbone, she told him that this time, it had even been _wonderful_.

He’d palmed the curve of her hip in response, fighting back the urge to gloat over the praise. 

* * *

Tenten was _cross_.

Intellectually, she’d known they’d have to return from St. Louis, but it had been such a wondrous experience, and so much had changed for the better, that she wanted to stay there, where things were perfect.

So yes, she was cross at having to leave, and Neji was cranky over waking up so early (he’d gotten up at dawn to send a few telegrams), and they were sniping at one another just a little bit on the cab ride to the train station. Tenten had resorted to a pouty silence that probably came across as a normal silence. 

She felt marginally better when Neji draped his coat over her shoulders in the chill of the train car, and gave him a under-the-lashes smile of gratitude that she mostly meant him to miss. He saw it, of course, and his returning smile swung her mood all the way into happy again.

They sat side-by-side this time in the seat, idly playing pen-and-paper games to pass some of the time. After Neji’s seventh consecutive win at hangman, Tenten resorted to using French words. 

They stopped playing once lunch arrived and it necessitated Neji moving to the seat across so they had enough arm room to eat. Tenten kept his coat over her shoulders and stretched her feet across the hidden space beneath the tabletop to run them up Neji’s calf. 

She cuddled back up against him after lunch, their sides pressing together as Neji read the paper and she her book. She could tell he was turning something over in his mind as he read, but waited patiently for him to bring it up himself.

They were pulling into the stop before their station- and were some of the last people in the passenger car- when Neji put down his paper and turned to kiss her temple slowly, his eyes drifting out the window.

“Neji?” She prompted quietly. His lips curled into a smile, as they always had every time she’d called him by his name- an almost involuntary response, it seemed. 

“I was just thinking...” he said slowly into her hair. “How will- you are still engaged to Sasuke, technically.”

It suddenly felt as though Tenten was at the end of a very long, narrow tunnel. “Yes,” she agreed, her voice tinny to her ears.

He continued hesitantly, “What are your plans towards that regard?”

She was engaged to a man she knew nothing about, and completely in love with the man who was her employer. Her mother wanted her married off to the former, but Tenten’s own heart ached for marriage with the latter.

And that was the exact reason she had done her best to avoid this type of conversation with Neji- she had no idea if he felt the same way. He loved her, she was sure, but he’d made no inclination of wanting marriage. And it made Tenten feel panicky and _stupid_ \- she’d let him in her bed, and _wanted_ him there, there could be no doubt of that, but she was no longer a virgin and there was no reason to believe that there would be any marriage to compensate.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and told him, “I plan to meet with Sasuke and dissolve our agreement, with our lawyers present.” And then she didn’t know what would happen. She would take anything Neji would give her.

“You engagement is a formal, legal affair, then, if you have to have your lawyers present.”

“Not exactly,” she corrected, “It’s just better to have them there, as we did technically instigate the arrangement on the basis of Mikoto Uchiha’s death wishes- not in a will, but still significant.”

“But not a legal obligation?” He clarified.

“No.”

“So you won’t be in breach of any sort of contract when we elope.”

She yanked her head off his shoulder to look at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“Not to worry,” he said, a little smug. “We’ll work it out.”

“No, I am _not_ taking that as an answer-” The had reached their stop, and Neji was quick to pull away from her and rise to his feet. He offered his hand to her, but all she could do was gape at him.

He grinned. “Very well, then, I’ll fetch our luggage and you meet me by our cab when you’re ready.” He departed, looking very pleased with himself.

She sat, shocked, for several minutes before she surged to her feet and raced to find him. Sure enough, he was waiting near the cab entry, their luggage at his feet, with a smirk still adorning his face.

She stopped in front of him, her face red, and puffed out, “You-”

“Cab’s here,” he said blithely, and hustled her in before helping the driver with the luggage. 

The driver sat back in the car and said, “Where to, sir?” Tenten reached for the hotel address she had placed safely in her pocket, but Neji produced his own and passed it forward before she got the chance. She turned back to him and began, “Neji, you-”

“Let’s discuss it later, shall we?” He offered, his eyes bright and pleased with himself. Tenten’s heart pounded in her chest- so he wanted to marry her after all- and she huffed. “Fine,” she said, “But you’d better have a very detailed explanation.”

He smiled and clasped her hand in his. “Of course, my dear.”

One long cab ride later and she was frowning at the surroundings around them- she couldn’t spot their hotel anywhere, just some larger houses and an old church. Absently, she spun around to keep looking. “Neji, are you sure this is the right address…?” 

He was speaking to the cab driver through the window, and whatever the man had said seemed to please him. He stepped back and noticed her questioning look, but only grinned and tucked her hand against his arm before pulling her along.

“Our luggage?” She reminded him. Undeterred, he pressed onward. “The driver agreed to wait.”

More confused than ever, she muttered, “What on _earth_ is going on?”

“You’ll see,” was his cryptic response, and then they were ducking into the church.

Three steps in and she stopped short, her hand limply falling from Neji’s clasp as she gaped at the occupants inside the church. Neji turned to look at her, his expression an odd mix between happiness and trepidation.

And she knew why- Hinata threw her a little wave from where she was standing next to the pastor, and Lee waved his entire body at her enthusiastically from where he stood across the aisle. There were flowers strewn all down the aisle and candles arranged artfully all over the room.

She finally turned to meet Neji’s gaze again, completely unable to think. He smiled at her, slow and tender, and whispered, “Will you marry me?”

She bit her lip, reaching her hand out towards him as her eyes watered. “Yes,” she managed, and he grinned as he took her hand in his. 

* * *

Neji walked out of the church a married man, feeling the most light-hearted he ever had. At his side, Tenten hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d walked into the church and she’d realized what was happening.

They got back into the cab, with Hinata and Lee waving wildly behind them with intentions to join them on the train ride back the next day. Tenten turned to him and, fingers curled around his, demanded, “How on _earth_ did you set that up?”

He grinned, completely satisfied with himself. “Those telegrams I sent this morning were for Hinata and Lee, respectively. I figured you’d want him as one of the witnesses, and I wanted Hinata, so they arrived by train earlier this afternoon and set things up for us.”

She placed her head on his shoulder and gripped his hand tighter, running her fingers over the band now resting securely over his ring finger. “You’re lucky I wanted to marry you, then, after all those plans.”

“The luckiest man in the world,” he murmured, and kissed her. He held her hand up to admire her ring in the light- his maternal grandmother’s, one of the few things he had that wasn’t from the Hyuga family. It was a beautiful ring, and he only hoped it would complement the woman who now wore it.

She ducked her head, seemingly shy at his statement, but her smile was so wide she might as well have been yelling with joy. Neji reached out and tugged her over to rest against his shoulder, his hand warm over the back of her neck.

* * *

Hinata took another dainty sip of tea to hide her smile as she watched her cousin fidget over his own cup, his eyes locked on the couple seated across the street. He was clearly doing his best to put on a calm air, but the impatient bouncing of his foot betrayed his nerves.

“It will be fine,” she reminded him gently.

“I know,” he replied instantly, not even sparing her a look.

“She’s married.”

“Yes.”

“To you.”

“Yes.”

“They had an arranged, unemotional engagement that had barely been confirmed.”

“Yes, but they were engaged based on the wishes of his deceased mother, he’s hardly going to take it well-”

“I thought you agreed it would be fine?” She teased softly.

He jerked his head around to meet her eyes, scowling, and she giggled. He was about to retort when the pair across the street stood up and shook hands, seemingly wrapped up with their business. 

Neji visibly swallowed as the woman made her way across the street to them, the man watching her with an odd look on his face and his arms folded over his chest. He abruptly smirked, visible even from their distant vantage point, and waved his hand in a sardonic greeting.

Hinata glanced at her cousin and found him glaring back at the man, their eye contact hostile, but Neji yanked his gaze away as his wife stalked up to the table and smacked a stack of paper in front of him.

He stared up at her, wide-eyed, as she sat down next to him, then gave him a decidedly frosty look. “Care to explain?” she asked him, venom in her voice. Hinata took a thoughtful sip of her tea.

Neji thumbed through some of the papers in front of him, then suddenly stopped. He coughed. “Ah. That.”

“Yes,” Tenten said dangerously, “ _that._ ” She drummed her fingers impatiently on the table, staring at him, and Hinata ducked her chin to hide her smile at her cousin and his wife’s interactions. She herself found them both quite intimidating sometimes, but they felt no such way towards one another. 

Neji coughed again, embarrassed, and the silence drew out. Hinata’s curiosity grew ever stronger but she kept her inquiries to herself, sure that Tenten would get an answer out of Neji eventually.

He finally stopped pretending to be wrapped up in the papers and looked up at Tenten with a contrite look. She was unmoved.

“It was just after you confessed to me that you had no desire to marry Uchiha,” he said. “I was quite upset with him for imposing so much upon you. I wrote the letter immediately after our conversation and sent it before I could think differently of it.”

“It never occurred to you it was a stupid idea?” Tenten asked flatly, yanking the papers back towards herself and shoving them back into her file.

“Not at the time, dearest.” There was a placating tone to Neji’s voice that made Hinata fight back a giggle, as he tentatively reached out to clasp his wife’s hand in his own. Tenten was still scowling, but she let him.

“In any case,” Neji continued, brushing his thumb over her knuckles, “I hope it didn’t cause you any trouble.”

“It’s going to cause _you_ trouble,” she snipped. “I’m terribly angry at you now.” So saying, she squeezed his hand in hers before pulling away to pour herself some tea. Neji sat back to his own cup, looking very pleased with himself, and Hinata asked, “So, your meeting with Mr. Uchiha was, um, successful?”

Tenten’s smile was wry. “Well, I’m no longer engaged to one man and married to another.”

“...because we’re getting divorced,” Neji told Hinata stoically. He then turned back to his newspaper. 

Hinata blinked rapidly between them, disbelieving. She couldn’t read Tenten’s expression as the other woman sipped her tea, but she made no effort to correct him. Her chest began to hurt, and she croaked out, “You’re… what?”

Tenten placed her cup down with a loud _clink_. “Seriously, Neji, don’t make jokes.” 

Her cousin- that absolute _ass_ \- chuckled to himself. Tenten turned back to Hinata, a more reassuring look on her face, and told her, “Of course we’re not getting divorced. But my engagement to Sasuke is officially over, with no problems.”

“Except that letter,” Neji mumbled to himself.

“Yes, but that’s going to be a problem for _you_ , love,” Tenten told him sweetly. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

“What letter?” Hinata finally asked timidly. Tenten reached into her file and pulled out the papers that had made Neji so uncomfortable and plopped them down in front of her.

Hinata recognized her cousin’s handwriting and her curiosity only grew. She scanned the paper- but abruptly found herself having to focus all of her attention on it, given how- _volatile_ the contents were.

She read the last few sentences a few times over to make sure she’d interpreted them correctly- she couldn’t _believe_ that _Neji_ of all people would even dare to write these thoughts down, much less send them.

She jerked her head up to gape at Neji, but he was steadfastly ignoring her in favor of flushing down at his newspaper. Tenten looked smug. 

Hinata futilely tried to think of something to say, but words failed her. She had to settle for squeaking reprimands at Neji, who looked properly abashed despite the fact she hadn’t used any words.

“In any case,” Tenten said smoothly, tucking the letter away again, “I’m officially, utterly yours, Neji.” There was a brush of sincerity to her words that made Hinata feel both happy for the newlyweds and awkward to be there during such could-be tender moment. 

Neji only smiled, flipping the page of his newspaper while meeting Tenten’s gaze steadily. “Oh, good. It was getting uncomfortable to have an engaged young lady living in my house with no chaperone.”

“I bet,” Tenten agreed, and smiled back.

Hinata beamed at them both. “Well, I’m glad things went well.”

Tenten grinned, and Hinata could see how much more at ease she was compared to the morning, when she’d been disguising her nerves with a bite in her voice. “I am too. I still have a honeymoon to cash in, and now I can do it in clear conscience.” 

Neji put aside his newspaper to smile at her. “Greece,” he said, eyes looking steadily at Tenten’s flushed face. “Or France.”

“Greece or France,” Tenten agreed softly.

They smiled at one another for several more moments before turning away again, Tenten to her book and Neji to his paper. Hinata watched, feeling overwhelmingly happy for her cousin, as they both reached out at the same time to join hands while they read.


	12. Day Twelve: Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a follow-up to day seven, "Amnesia." waaaaaaaay later than the rest of them, sorry. hashtag uni life

Ever since he’d been forced to break up with her, Neji’s life had slowed down until the days blended endlessly one into another.

He woke up, went to class, went to work, went back to class, ate a perfunctory meal, studied, and went to bed. It was drudging and joyless, and sometimes he still reached over to the other side of the bed on Thursday mornings to see if she was there again- but she never was.

(He wondered, in his darker thoughts, what she did on Wednesday nights and Thursday mornings now, instead of their weekly date night. Maybe she still had dates, just- not with him, anymore, because he forced her away.)

And he made things all the worse for himself, because he couldn’t help but constantly scan for her on campus, because even seeing her from a distance still brightened and pained his day.

The first few weeks after their breakup, when she’d gone along just looking numb and confused, he’d done his best to avoid her, or if that failed then he did his best to avoid looking at her. He’d hurt her so much, and for no real reason.

He felt like the worst person in the world when he bumped into her leaving her lab after a late, unexpected meeting with his advisor, and said words that made her face crack like porcelain before she hurried away; for the time he overheard her quiet conversation with Hinata over the phone and remembered how she used to burrow her face against him in his car on the ride home to whine about work, clinging to his closest hand with both her own; when he’d learned her grandmother had passed away in the middle of a cafe through inadvertent eavesdropping and she had turned and met his stricken gaze, her own eyes wearied and trying their best to hide it- 

He wasn’t there for her any more, and it was killing him.

But she seemed like she was finally moving on, which was- well, he couldn’t decide if he was glad to see her happy again, or if he was devastated that any relationship they had was truly, completely over.

Hiashi’s half-apologies did nothing to ease his quiet, seething anger over the fact that he had been forced to end his relationship with the person in the world who made him the happiest, just to soothe the egos of a few clan Elders who wanted to see him “court a woman alike him in standing-”

After their most recent, violent argument, Neji had stormed out of the Hyuga household and decided not to return until his uncle genuinely showed remorse for how much he had allowed the clan to interfere in his life once more. The choice made a leaden stone sink into his gut, because he knew Hiashi would never care enough about Neji’s happiness to apologize.

Neji stayed up late working on a project and went to bed at 3:00 AM, then got up early to meditate.

* * *

One day he unthinkingly bought a hot chocolate to go along with his tea.

It was her usual order, and he’d become accustomed to getting it with his own, because she’d usually end up at his side sooner or later and accept it gleefully, with a delighted press of her lips to his cheek-

It was a habit that he thought he had broken, and it wrenched at his heart.

He put the hot chocolate in his other cupholder, because he didn’t know what else to do with it, and then brought it back to his apartment and stared at it for twenty minutes before Hanabi arrived for their tutoring session and he gave it to her to reheat.

It was while he was watching his cousin frown down at her calculus problems that he had something of a drastic realization, and sent a hurried email to his advisor.

* * *

The fallout from informing one’s family that one would  _ not  _ be following their predetermined plan to go into the family business and would instead be switching to high school education was, in Neji’s experience, drastic.

Things were going very smoothly from his university’s end- he was already pursuing a major in mathematics, so he simply dropped the business double major and registered his next semester’s classes for education- but the Hyuga family was furious with him, as made excruciatingly evident when he was disowned.

Perhaps the saddest part was that he only felt relief over officially being free from their cloying grasp, even if it meant he no longer had their financial support.

So while he was still uncertain about how exactly he’d be funding his education and paying for his rent and utilities, he was also dizzy with triumph. The university lawyers assuring him that yes, his father’s trust couldn’t be touched by the clan and was his to claim, certainly helped.

He would comfortably be able to continue his education, at least, but he needed to downsize his apartment and get another job to build up his savings. After talking to his advisors, and to a few of his professors, he applied for a mathematics tutoring position and was quickly hired on.

He found himself enjoying more than he thought he would- the actual mathematics were fairly straightforward, and coaxing his tutees through their lessons offered training for when he was a teacher.

Slowly, his world began to move forward again, and he thought of her less often.

* * *

Though he knew she had technically been forbidden by their family from seeing him, Neji was no less surprised when Hinata came barreling out from around a corner and smacked into his arms in a violent form of a hug. 

“Hello, Hinata,” he mumbled into her forehead as she made her usual choking noises that meant she was fighting back tears. Gingerly, he patted her back, then pulled away and redirected her so they started walking into his building.

Not that it would be his building much longer, as he’d be terminating his lease and moving in two months, but for now it was still his. 

He had several new, less expensive apartments in mind, all of which were more than acceptable, but so far the most ideal one was in  _ her  _ building, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that to himself, or to her.

He took himself back to the present and held the door open for Hinata, and then for Hanabi as she came sprinting out of the same area where Hinata had been lurking and ducked past him with a wild grin, clomping after her sister. 

He rolled his eyes a little. Subtlety had never been one of their strong points. 

Hinata tearfully hugged him again after they entered his apartment, while Hanabi started rifling through his pantry with  _ very  _ determinedly nonchalant air, though the furtive looks she kept throwing them ruined the illusion a little bit.

When ten minutes had passed and he still couldn’t get any comprehensible words out of Hinata, he turned to Hanabi for an explanation. She was eating a bowl of oatmeal with some banana sliced into it and looking pleased with herself.

“Hanabi, not that I’m not glad to see you both, but why are you here? I know you’ve both technically been banned from seeing me.”

She spooned more oatmeal into her mouth. “Like that was going to stop us.”

“True enough, but why is Hinata so upset? I was disowned weeks ago, I’d think she had time to get over it.”

Hinata let out a sad gurgle. Neji awkwardly patted her hand.

Hanabi mumbled out, in a voice squishy with half-chewed banana, “She misses you- well, we both do- and upon seeing you again her emotions overwhelmed her.”

She swallowed, then added hesitantly, “I think Father-”

Neji stood abruptly. “Hinata, would you like a glass of water?” He strode into the kitchen without waiting for an answer, and Hanabi pursed her lips in grudging acceptance as she settled next to her sister on the couch.

“You’d better not spill,” Neji warned her as he handed Hinata her glass. Hinata looked as though he’d yelled at her, and he hastily corrected, “Hanabi, with her oatmeal.”

“Yeah, spill as much water as you’d like, Hina.”

“That is not what I meant and you know it.”

“Sure it is.”

Hinata, unnoticed by both as they playfully bickered, smiled into her water.

* * *

Lee was as enthusiastic and helpful as ever, despite the awkward situation Neji had put him in- his two best friends, formerly dating, now no longer spoke at all. 

But Lee chattered lightly about various, non-ex girlfriend related subjects as they somehow got Neji’s couch through the tiny door frame and into his new apartment. Hinata was in the kitchen, organizing his dishes and humming along to the classical music she was playing. 

He had several unpacked boxes still sitting in the various places that their contents would go, but once the couch was in and his kitchen was inhabitable Neji would be fine doing the rest himself.

He and Lee had already brought in all the other furniture and placed it, and Hanabi had put all his clothes away for him that morning before she’d had to leave for her tutoring.

(She’d kept slingshotting his underwear at him to amuse herself, so really her help had been a mixed blessing.)

Neji’s stomach was still churning, however, because despite his best attempts he had not been able to find a better place than  _ her  _ building, and the chances of encountering her were- astronomically high.

He didn’t know what to do- did he contact her to warn her of the possibility, so they could just duck past each other without saying a word? Did he just hope they never saw one another and keep it to himself?

He worried over it as Hinata left after a tight hug goodbye, and Lee began to depart after an even  _ tighter  _ hug goodbye- until Neji abruptly caught his arm and choked out, “Lee, wait.”

Lee turned to look at him, his thick eyebrows raised high with enthusiastic patience. Neji knew he had to leave soon, as he had a “study session” with Gaara that night- but he still couldn’t formulate the words he needed to say.

Lee read his expression carefully, then gently prompted, "Neji?"

"Will you… please tell her, Lee, I don't want this to be an unpleasant shock."

He didn’t quite know what happened- one moment Lee was halfway out the door, his arm caught in Neji’s hand, and then Neji was being hugged within an inch of his life. (His feet were  _ off the ground _ , what on earth was Lee doing?)

“Of course, Neji,” he muttered into his ear. “You are a good friend.”

Neji said nothing. His throat felt unexpectedly tight.

* * *

It had been three months, halfway through the second semester, and they had yet to encounter one another in the building. Neji almost thought he was in the clear, but he knew that as time stretched on his luck (good or bad, he wasn’t sure) would not last.

He knew, from word of mouth, that she was battling a severe cold right now, and he couldn’t help but remember how she used to whimper and cling to him dramatically when she was sick, somehow plying kisses out of him despite his deeply germ-averse nature (which had quickly been established after the time Hanabi sneezed straight into his open mouth when she was a baby) and then giggling unsympathetically at him when he inevitably caught whatever it was she’d had.

And when he got migraines she used to scratch her fingers softly against his scalp, easing the tension and distracting him with her soft mouth-

And it was exactly this type of thinking that kept him where he was now, aching with regrets, picturing her cluttering around her apartment four floors up from him. He forced the thoughts away. Her current illness had nothing to do with him.

* * *

At least, that had been his plan.

He ran into Ino Yamanaka on her way out of the building one day- which was terrifying. He hadn’t had to face her one-on-one since he’d broken up with Te- with  _ her _ , and he sure Ino would be rightfully furious with him.

But she surprised him by giving him a short nod and then suddenly making a startled face, like she’d had an abrupt thought, and saying, “Neji, do you have a moment?”

He didn’t. “Yes. How may I assist you?”

“It’s weird and kind of uncomfortable and it’s totally fine if you say no, but- ugh, okay. Bunhead is  _ super  _ sick right now, and we’ve been taking shifts staying with her, but the way things worked out she’s going to be home alone all weekend- can you go check on her once or twice?”

Neji’s unreadable mask slammed down over his features even as his mind raced. “I… it’s not that I don’t want to help, Ino, but I don’t think  _ she  _ would want me there.”

“Right, but she’s so hopped up on cold medicine right now I doubt she’ll even notice.” She eyed him for a moment, sensing his trepidation, then sighed and dragged her hand down her face. She looked tired.

“Look, I can’t make you do this- obviously- but you’re in the building and you’d spare us a lot of worrying. Here-” she dug around in her bag and pulled out a key- “I’ll get this back from you later. Use it, don’t use it, whatever. I’ll be back Sunday night, so you’d just need to swing by and check on her during the day on Saturday and Sunday morning. See you around, ‘kay?”

She left before he could articulate a response, staring mutely down at the impossibly heavy key in his hand.

* * *

Neji stared at the familiar door number in front of him, key clenched in his palm and digging tightly into his skin as he did his best to regulate his breathing and empty his thoughts.

Calm, calm. He would knock, likely end up entering quietly and refilling the pitcher of water in the refrigerator, then leave again with no confrontation whatsoever.

He knocked, waited a few long moments, then knocked again and called quietly, “Hello?”

Silence. He tested the door- unlocked- then slipped in. 

It was dark, unsurprisingly, and he could hear the faint sounds of her noise machine drifting down the hallway from her bedroom. He hesitated, then followed the noise. 

Her door was partially open, and he knocked hesitantly on the frame. There was no response, so- heart in his throat- he entered her bedroom.

She was asleep with her back to him, blankets bundled over her figure as she snuffled away softly. He could see just a bit of her hair sticking out from her bundle, looking decidedly ruffled and baby bird-ish.

Neji tore his eyes away from the rich color he remembered so fondly and his gaze fell to the nightstand, where an empty glass sat next to a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of Dayquil. He hesitated, then picked up the glass and went into the kitchen to refill it.

As he’d suspected, her water pitcher was empty- she was terrible about refilling it- so he brought it over to the sink and filled it again before simply putting tap water with an ice cube into the glass. 

He paused in the living room to pick up a coaster from the coffee table, then brought the glass back into the bedroom. Her snores had quieted a little, and he glanced at her briefly before putting the glass down.

She’d rolled just a little more onto her back, and he could see the shape of her cheek and a dark splash of eyelashes in profile- but he looked away quickly.

The glass settled on the coaster with a slight noise, and he straightened to leave.

“Neji?” 

He froze.

“Neji.” There was a soft touch to his forearm, and he turned to watch as an achingly familiar hand brushed against his skin, just the fingertips but it was enough to make his heart spiral in his chest.

Warm fingers wrapped around his wrist and tugged, and Neji turned to face her.

Doe eyes blinked up at him sleepily, and her grip slid from his wrist to his palm as she considered him. She yawned, teeth glinting, then said in a drowsy voice, “Hi.”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Her fingertips traced over the lines of his palm, and even as a thrill went down his spine he couldn’t help but anguish over how she would react to his presence when she was awake and sober, how angry and horrified she would be-

Her fingers rose up to scrape gently over his wrist. “Slow down.” It was such a non sequitur that his brow pinched in confusion, and- much to his shock- an amused smile shaped her mouth in response. “You’re thinking too much about something. Slow down.”

She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, and seemed to fall back asleep. He was about to pull away when she whispered, “Ino said you’d be coming by. S’okay. M’not… not really mad at you anymore anyway-” she yawned again- “...and I’m… I’m glad…” she trailed off, and her hand gently dropped from his.

Neji stared at her sleeping face in shock. After a moment, he numbly reached out and placed her arm next to her on the bed.

He hurried out of her apartment, mind spinning frantically. She was  _ glad _ ? Glad about  _ what _ ?

* * *

He checked in again Sunday morning, just as nervous as he had been before. She didn’t answer his knock again, so he opened the door cautiously.

The apartment was dark except for the light spilling from the bedroom, the door thrown open. Neji walked down the hallway and eyed all the notes and textbooks strewn across the end of the bed- clearly her illness hadn’t prevented her from keeping up with her studies.

Actually stepping into the room showed a different story. She was asleep with her head tipped back against the headboard, her laptop dangerously close to falling off her legs and onto the floor. 

He pried it from her loose grip and saved the program she had been working on, then closed it and set it aside. She stirred, and after a moment of frozen contemplation he walked over and turned off the main lights, so the room was only illuminated by her tableside lamp.

Next he cleared the assortment of papers off the edge of her bed, organizing them as best he could on her desk. That accomplished, he turned and his gaze fell on the glass of water- empty again. 

He filled it- and the pitcher, which of  _ course  _ was empty- and put in a single ice cube, then walked it back to the room and put it on the table. A thought occurred, and he rattled the ibuprofen container softly. It was half-empty, and he put it back down with a thoughtful furrowing of the brows- perhaps he could pick up more for her, if she seemed to use them rapidly enough. 

He took one last look around, to make sure everything was comfortably organized for when she woke up, then allowed himself to look at her again.

She met his gaze with a sleepy smile, and he fought back an instinctive startle- he hadn’t realized she was awake. 

His heart pounded in his chest. He watched, entranced, as she sat up a little and rubbed her eyes, then beckoned him closer.

Every part of him told him this was a bad idea, but he stepped towards her anyway, until he was within reach. Like before, she reached out and took his hand in her own, twining their fingers together. He only hoped she couldn’t feel how rapid his pulse was- but then she slipped the pads of her fingers onto his wrist and he knew he was found out.

Her smile took on a decidedly cunning tilt, and Neji reflexively scowled in response.

(She’d done this all the time when they first started dating. She had liked seeing how flustered he got, although eventually he’d become a little more used to it and could easily keep pace with her acts of affection.

But they’d been broken up for almost seven months and he’d missed her  _ so much _ , so it felt just as new and nerve-wracking as it had on their first date.

But the dynamic was so easy to slip back into- her, playfully teasing, and him hiding his affection with annoyance.

It was too easy, and too confusing, and it hurt.)

She let her fingers slip back down to rest their palms together, then squeezed his hand. “Thanks for coming by again.”   
  


“Of course,” he murmured instinctively. Her smile widened, but she ducked her chin to hide it a little.

“I…” Neji watched (and tried not to think about it too hard) as she ran her tongue over her lower lip. “I’m…”

He watched as she struggled to say something, only to suddenly let out a wracking cough that shook her shoulders and left her hunched over and gasping for breath.

He found himself kneeling next to the bed, rubbing her lower back with one hand while she still clutched the other, squeezing it tightly in her pain. She was clearly miserable, and for the first time he noticed the sheen on her skin and the glassy look in her eyes.

Neji gently pulled his hand from her grasp and laid his palm on her forehead, hissing through his teeth when he felt how hot it was under his touch. “You’re running a fever. Lay down.”

“M’not sleepy,” she muttered, pressing her forehead against his hand. “Your hands are cold. S’nice.”

“It’s not about sleeping, it’s about resting. Drink.” He grabbed the cup with the hand she wasn’t insistently holding to her forehead and passed it to her, making sure she finished it off before setting it aside once more.

She stubbornly remained sitting upright, clutching his hand to her head and scowling at him when he told her insistently, “Lie down.”

She sulked. He fought back a wave of affection (because if their past experiences were any indication, she would gleefully use his feelings against him to get what she wanted, because he turned into a pushover whenever she pouted) and pulled his hand from her grasp.

“Hey!”

“I’ll give it back when you lie down,” he told her sternly, as if they weren’t having an absurd conversation over whether or not she could clutch his hand to her forehead like an ice pack.

She  _ thumped  _ back against her pillows and immediately grabbed his hand again, curling their fingers together as she plastered it against her forehead again. She harrumphed, and he couldn’t help but grin.

Something odd came over her expression, but it smoothed over quickly as she yawned. Neji leaned over and clicked the lamp off, to her indignant, “Wha- Neji!”

He ignored the butterflies churning in his stomach (her voice, saying his name) and told her, “Again, you don’t have to sleep. I just- I want the lamp off. For me.”

“Yeah friggin’ right,” she muttered.

“I like the darkness.”

That made her laugh hoarsely. “Okay, Batman.”

“I don’t understand that reference.”

“You don’t- that’s such an obvious one! Damn it, Neji,  _ engage  _ in popular culture once in a while-”

He couldn’t quite muffle his chuckles, and she fell into a suspicious silence before exclaiming, “You asshole!”

He laughed aloud, then, and couldn’t help but squeeze the hand that was still entwined with his. “I’m hurt that you think so little of my pop knowledge.”

“Of course I do, you’ve got the habits of an old man-”

“How rude. I’ll have you know that one of my tutor students sent me a meme the other day.”

“Ooh, mister big shot over here getting  _ memes _ \- shut  _ up _ , grandpa. Lower your head.” A hand reached up and pulled him down by the back of the neck. Puzzled, he allowed himself to be moved, then inhaled sharply as familiar lips pressed softly against his cheek.

“Thank you for taking care of me. I’ll kiss you for real when I’m less sick, germaphobe.” Her voice was already drowsy, and she slowly nodded off.

Neji wouldn’t have been able to formulate a reply even if he wanted to.

* * *

Neji was puzzled to hear a knock on his door at 8:00 in the evening on a Tuesday, so instead of getting up to answer he just stared blankly at his door.

After a moment, the person knocked again, so he set aside his laptop and many papers and got up to answer it. Hopefully whoever it was wouldn’t keep him away from his work too late, as he had an early morning class.

He opened the door cautiously and very seriously considered slamming it closed again once he saw the warm brown eyes waiting for him on the other side.

“Hi,” she said conversationally. “I’d like to come in.”

He wordlessly stepped to the side and allowed her entry, then stood and stared at her, flummoxed. She smiled back at him, slow and sure. “I’d like a drink.”

“I have wine.”

“Oof. You have terrible taste in wine.”

“I have tea…?”

“Wine sounds great, thanks.”

He started to walk towards the kitchen to pour them each a glass, and he heard her mutter behind him, “Plus wine makes things sexy.”

He stopped short and whirled to look at her again, flushing. “I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing!” She said hastily, her own features pink. “It’s not- I didn’t- Wine! I would like the wine.” She pushed past him into the kitchen, then stopped and windmilled around a little bit. “Um. I don’t know where it is.”

“I don’t suppose you would,” he replied, feeling decidedly nervous. He went over to the cupboard and pulled out the red he knew she’d like the most, then grabbed two glasses and poured wine for each of them. She accepted hers and took a  _ very  _ large drink.

Silently, he took it from her grasp and refilled it, then passed it back.

She was completely flushed by then, and as she took the glass back she muttered an embarrassed, “Thanks,” that was probably the cutest thing he’d ever heard.

Inwardly, Neji winced at his thoughts- he was never going to be over her, was he?

She took another sip of her wine, and he unconsciously mirrored her, allowing the liquid to roll over his tongue before swallowing. (This particular bottle had been a gift from his uncle- from before he was disowned, of course- that had sat unopened for a long time. He’d debated passing it along to someone else after everything unfolded, but it was a  _ very  _ nice wine and he’d ultimately decided he’d get more vindication out of having it himself. Sharing it with  _ her  _ was an even better turn of events.)

They somewhat awkwardly adjourned to his sitting room, with Neji hastily arranging his paperwork to the side so they had room to settle on the couch. She watched him over her glass as she took another sip, her cheeks still pink, and he tried not to think too hard about that, or the fact that she was wearing a slightly too-big sweater that’d he’d always adored on her.

Eventually, she broke the silence with a little cough and said, “Thank you. For taking care of me this weekend.”

“You’re welcome,” he muttered, averting his eyes.

She sighed, and the silence welled. He peered up at her from underneath his eyelashes, trying not to seem obvious in his staring.

Her gaze darted to his, and he hastily looked away. 

Abruptly, she said, “Oh,  _ hell- _ ” and put her wine down so forcefully that he flinched. Before he could admonish her, however, she was moving across the couch to sit next to him, prying the glass from his hand, and suddenly she was leaning up towards his face-

Her lips had just barely brushed against his own when he jerked away, and in his panic at the fact that there was no room for him back away on the couch, he instead surged to his feet and took a few tumbling steps back.

They stared at one another for several long moments. Neji’s chest was heaving.

Her face slowly tensed, and she looked down. “Right.” A smile twisted her lips, wry and unhappy and  _ bleak _ , and she stood. “I’ll stop bothering you, then.” 

He was at her side instantly, cupping her elbow in his hand and choking out a desperate “ _ Wait. _ ”

She stilled, and when he didn’t say anything else, let out a slow sigh and leaned forward to carefully rest her face against the crook of his neck. Her breath was warm, and he shivered. 

“You broke up with me,” she said slowly, and Neji closed his eyes against the inevitable.

“...because your family was making you.” It wasn’t what he had expected, but it was still true, so he said slowly, “Yes.”

“And then something went on in your genius, complex brain, and rather than  _ telling  _ me about what was going on you just… actually broke up with me.”

Neji wasn’t sure what direction she was going in, so he remained silent.

“And I found out about that, and I was fucking  _ furious _ with you, because- well. My boyfriend’s family- which is admittedly a cesspool of horrible people- demanded that he break up with me, and he just  _ did _ , so I figured that showed how much I meant to him.”

Too much. She meant too much.

“But  _ then _ -” She moved away from him, but only long enough to drape her arms over his shoulders before settling her head back on his neck. “-I find out that my ex-boyfriend hasn’t spoken to his uncle since the family made the decision, which is significant given that the uncle practically raised him and they’re pretty close, all things considered. Not only that, but he also dropped out of the family business to get a degree in teaching.”

Having the painful events of the past few months so neatly summed up left Neji feeling rather hollow. She continued, “...which went over  _ very  _ poorly with his family, and his refusal to switch back to a business major, plus his apparent ‘disrespect’, led to him being disowned.

“And my source- who is very worried about her dear cousin-” Hinata. Of course. “-tells me that he hasn’t looked back once.” She moved her hand over to the back of his neck, and tangled her fingers very gently in his hair.

“Which means that his family didn’t mean that much to him after all, and maybe the fact that they made him break up with me was enough to finally drive him away.

“So here’s a question for  _ you  _ to answer. Why didn’t you  _ tell _ me anything, either before we broke up, or after you finally got out of that hellhole and they couldn’t hold things over your head anymore?”

“How could I?” The words burst from Neji before he could even consciously think of an answer, and he instinctively backed away to meet her eyes. “If I told you and we tried to work around them, the Hyuga clan would only pressure us until they got their way again. And then, after everything, how could I come back to you, after  _ hurting  _ you so much, and demand so much of you again?"

“Because I love you.” She said the words easily, like they hadn’t completely knocked the breath from his lungs, like he was still everything she wanted. “And I was hurt, and I’m still angry, and I want to work this out.” 

Her gaze and voice were both steady, and Neji was  _ crumbling _ .

“Tenten,” he whispered.

“And you love me too,” she murmured, completely confident (and she was right, of  _ course  _ she was right). “And I- I want to try. Us. I want to try ‘us’ again.” For the first time, uncertainty crossed her features, and she started chewing her lip. “If- I mean, if that’s what you want too.”

Too much. He did the only thing he could think of and raised his hand to her face, gently pried her bitten-red lip from her teeth with his thumb, and kissed her.

An immeasurable amount of time later, he drew back again. They were intimately entwined together, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and lower back, and she had her hands knotted in his hair.

He didn’t dare open his eyes, but rested his forehead against hers, feeling her breath puff against his chin. “I love you,” he breathed.

“I love you,” she echoed. She kissed him again.

  
  
  



End file.
